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THE RED PLUME 

3 t> / 

CHAPTER I 

THE SIOUX OUTBREAK 

It came about that in the summer of 1862, when 
many friends of the Union almost despaired of the suc¬ 
cess of our arms, and the most important battles in the 
field had gone against us, that a vicious outbreak oc¬ 
curred among the Sioux Indians of Minnesota. These 
people, known also as the Dakotas, are the most power¬ 
ful tribe on the continent, and for a time they spread 
death and destruction, and caused a reign of terror 
over a large portion of one of the fairest States of the 
Union. 

The outbreak occurred in the month of August, and 
was so sudden that, as is generally the case, hundreds 
of settlers were caught wholly unprepared. Recruit¬ 
ing for the Union armies was going on at the time, and 
after awhile, when other troops had been sent into the 
State, the revolt was quelled and summary punishment 
visited upon the most guilty 

Near , the central part of Minnesota is a romantic 
sheet of water about three miles in length, known as 
: ' 1 



2 


THE RED PLUME 


Man-yo-han or Sleeping Water. On one shore stood 
the dwelling of grim old Captain Swarthausen, a vet¬ 
eran, who was at home just recovered from a wound 
received on the Peninsula. He had no family of his 
own, his housekeeper being Mrs. Muggins, whose hus¬ 
band looked after outside matters. The captain’s 
nephew, George Havens, was fighting the battles of his 
country with the Army of the Cumberland. 

On the opposite side of the lake was the home of 
John Fielding, a young Quaker, and his negro servant 
Pompey. The two were actively preparing the house 
for the parents of Fielding, who intended to remove 
thither from Philadelphia in the coming autumn. 
Close at hand, was the residence of the Prescotts, in¬ 
cluding the head of the family, Hugh, who was a 
wealthy consumptive, his wife, two daughters, Lillian 
and Edith, and two negro servants, Cato and Elijah, or 
“ Lige,” as he was always called. Dinah, the cook, 
was the mother of Cato, who naturally was her pet and 
pride. 

It so happened that on this memorable day in Au¬ 
gust, the Prescott household was increased by still an¬ 
other in the person of Augustus Pipkins, a Chicago 
insurance clerk, and cousin of the young ladies, whose 
most puzzling problem, after his visit had lasted several 
days, was to determine which of the fair sisters he ad¬ 
mired the most. 

The Sioux outbreak reached Sleeping Water in a 
most peculiar manner. The younger members of the 


THE RED PLUME 


3 


Prescott household had gone for a sail on the lake, and 
the three lusty negro servants were lazily fishing on the 
banks of the lake, when a dozen Indians, in their war 
paint and fully armed, came from the wood as silently 
as so many shadows and made all three prisoners. 

It need not be said that there was consternation, for 
no one expected mercy, but the incident was accom¬ 
panied by another whose full significance was not un¬ 
derstood until sometime afterward. One of the Sioux, 
known as Jarrik, an under chief, greeted the negro 
Lige with a grin, and, taking him to one side, talked 
with him in broken English. In truth, the two were 
old acquaintances, and the African, surly and reserved 
by nature, had furnished the chief more than once with 
whiskey. -■ 

While Cato and Pompey were bewailing their fate, 
Lige suddenly made a break for liberty, heading 
straight for the Prescott house, where young Fielding 
had gone. Several shots were fired at the fugitive, 
but they must have been poorly aimed, for he was un¬ 
touched, and being admitted by Mr. Prescott, told his 
startling story, whose full meaning was instantly un¬ 
derstood by all. 

Meanwhile Captain Swarthausen had exchanged 
shots a short time before with the same party of ma¬ 
rauders, so that he knew what was in the air. 

The house in which Mr. Prescott and his family had 
dwelt during the last two years, was partly an exotic 
and partly a native of Minnesota. 


4 


THE RED PLUME 


In the first place he had had a neat little one-story 
cottage made in St. Louis. When this was put up in 
proper shape, he had it taken down and set up again on 
the shore of Sleeping Water Lake, it going through an 
experience very similar to the habitation of Captain 
Swarthausen. 

It had stood here but a short time when he discov¬ 
ered that it was altogether inadequate to his wants. So 
he brought carpenters and masons from the nearest set¬ 
tlement, and erected an addition so large and roomy 
that it was really the main building, being two stories 
in height, cut up into convenient apartments, and con¬ 
structed in the best style possible. 

That portion of this Louse which migrated from St. 
Louis, of course was simply frame,pwhich barely pro¬ 
tected them from freezing during the first fearful win¬ 
ter that they spent in their new home. To prevent the 
recurrence of their suffering, every part of the building 
was “ filled in ” with stone, and the red pipestone clay, 
which is so plentiful in this State. 

At the same time Mr. Prescott did not forget that his 
family incurred some danger in this solitude. Not that 
he ever dreamed of passing through anything like the 
Minnesota Massacre, for, had he believed such a catas¬ 
trophe possible, he would have been the last man to re¬ 
move his defenceless ones to their new home; but he 
knew that there were wild animals, which, when driven 
by hunger, were daring and ferocious; and evil men 
sometimes tramped through the border counties, ^.nd 
were not the most pleasant companions to encounter. 


THE RED PLUME 


p?- 

With these facts staring him in the face, his house 
was built. All the lower windows were protected by 
massive wooden shutters, and the doors were bullet¬ 
proof, and secured by such a series of bolts and locks 
that it was far easier for a man to cut and hack his way 
in than to burst them from their fastenings, or to suc¬ 
ceed in picking the locks and bolts. 

Of course this building, although the strongest one 
that stood along the lake, was not a fort, and could not 
be made to answer for one. It was vulnerable from al¬ 
most any direction, and the dry, seasoned pine which 
entered largely into its composition made it as com¬ 
bustible as touch wood. The flames could be easily 
started, and when once under way would rage with re¬ 
sistless fury. 

Then there were no means to stand a siege, even if 
the element of fire should*not be employed by the In¬ 
dians. There was a small quantity of food in the house, 
and not enough water to last more than a few days. 

The Sioux really could not have chosen a more fa¬ 
vorable time to attack the settlers. Captain Swarthau- 
sen was shut up in his own building, not only unable to 
get out and render any assistance, but sorely needing it 
himself. Pipkins and his two cousins were on the other 
side of the lake, while the two negroes were already 
prisoners in the hands of their enemies. 

The forces were scattered and divided, and a half 
dozen Sioux, with a little circumspection, could fall 
upon them in detail and destroy them all. 


THE RED PLUME 


Captain Swarthausen and Mr. Prescott could be 
easily burned out, Pipkins and the girls were defence¬ 
less, and could not hope long to escape discovery, so 
that so far as human foresight was concerned, there 
could be but one result to this expedition of the red¬ 
skins. 

The barn belonging to the Prescott house was situ¬ 
ated within a stone’s throw, directly back of it. Noth¬ 
ing could prevent the Indians from entering and firing 
this, and should the wind blow toward the lake, the 
house would be certain to follow its fate. 

Indeed the sagacious Quaker had detected unmis¬ 
takable signs of the Sioux having already ensconced | 
themselves there; but, as there was not a breath of air J 
stirring—the zephyr which had wafted the boat across j 

the lake having entirely died away—there was little ' 
fear of a conflagration breaking out at present. 

The long summer afternoon was wearing away, and ! 
night—dreaded night—the time when the treacherous 
red man steals to his work, was close at hand. 

The sky was clear, but the moon was in its last quar¬ 
ter, and afforded so faint a light, that there was good ^ 
cause for our beleaguered friends to fear the worst. No 
one dared hope that their enemies would remain idle 
during the favorable darkness so close at hand. 

It was not strange that two men should come into 
the thoughts of the whites—two men whom, of all oth¬ 
ers, they longed to see. 

These were Red Plume, a friendly Sioux, and Jubal 


THE RED PLUME 


7 


Judkins, or “ Old Jud,” as he was more generally 
known. These strange characters were companions 
who had often visited the Lake settlements, and had al¬ 
ways received such hospitable treatment, that they 
formed a strong attachment for the settlers, and both 
Lillian and Edith had been the recipients of many curi¬ 
ous mementoes and trophies of the chase from their 
dusky friend, and his hardly less dusky comrade. 

Was it not more than probable that these men knew 
of the uprising of the Sioux? And if they did, would 
they not appear on the ground in time to befriend their 
imperilled friends. 

These were the questions which suggested them¬ 
selves, and to which Captain Swarthausen, Mr. Pres¬ 
cott and Fielding could not fail to give favorable an¬ 
swers. 

As yet none of them had any idea that Red Plume 
was already on the scene of action, and was just getting 
to work. It was “ Greek against Greek/'’ and there was 
to be no child’s play. 


CHAPTER II 


THE CANOE UNDER THE BANK 

Everything within the Prescott house was speedily 
put in the best condition for defence. Mrs. Prescott, 
quiet, calm and self-possessed, never speaking above an 
ordinary conversational tone, moved hither and thither, 
carrying her great grief with her, and doing the hun¬ 
dred little things which are none the less necessary' and 
inspiring confidence by her freedom from the appear¬ 
ance of anything like despair. 

Dinah had an immense kettle of water boiling on the 
stove. 

“ All I wants is de chance,’’ said she, in explanation, 
“ and if I doesn’t scald some of dem niggers—dat’s all. 
Ef dey don’t bring my baby back, I’ll bile ’em all.” 

There were four rifles in the house, and an abun¬ 
dance of ammunition. Prescott and Fielding, as a mat¬ 
ter of course, were each provided with one, although it 
was to be remarked that the young Friend thus far had 
remained true to his faith and had not discharged his 
weapon, although the opportunity of effectually doing 
so had not been lacking. 

Lige was also given a gun, and he seemed eager for 
a chance to help punish the marauders. 

8 


THE RED PLUME 


9 


“ All I wants is de chance,” said he, “ and I’ll pay 
’em for takin’ Pomp and Cato, and ’suitin’ me.” 

“ I don’t doubt it,” replied Mr. Prescott; “do your 
duty, Lige, for you can see that our safety is yours, and 
if you behave like a man I will not forget you.” 

“ Yes, sah,” was the hearty response. 

When Mrs. Prescott came to the upper story, and 
took the position assigned her, the whole four sides of 
the house, or more properly the different directions 
from which an assault of the Indians was possible, were 
under the surveillance of those within the building. 

There were really but the two points from which 
they looked for danger—the rear toward the barn, and 
the west, but, as apparently the most unlikely points 
were aptest to be the very ones selected by the redskins, 
Fielding counselled all to relax none of their vigilance 
for an instant. 

In the meantime, the young Friend had taken his 
station at an upper window, which commanded an un¬ 
obstructed view of the lake, and with a small but pow¬ 
erful field-glass, was anxiously searching for the sail 
boat in which Pipkins and his cousins had set out upon 
their pleasure excursion. 

“ Verily there is danger on every hand,” he mut¬ 
tered, as simultaneous with the spiteful crack of a rifle, 
the bullet cut a clean hole through the window pane, 
and passed within an inch of his face. “ It behooves 
me to be more careful.” 

Moving a short distance back, he succeeded in pro- 


IO 


THE RED PLUME 


tecting his face, while he retained the same view of the 
lake as before. 

He first ran his eye rapidly over the water and shore 
and along the island near its centre, but not a sign of 
life was visible. Everything was drowsy and seem¬ 
ingly at rest on this hazy afternoon. 

The yellow pine of Captain Swarthausen’s little cot¬ 
tage could be partly seen through the shrubbery, but 
that too was silent, and devoid of all appearance of life. 

The broad, silvery head of the Crescent River, where 
it started on its wanderings for the Arctic Sea, was the 
only break in the wall of green vegetation which en¬ 
compassed Sleeping Water. 

Failing to see anything with the naked eye, Fielding 
raised his glass and scrutinized the distant land with a 
closer gaze. He at first directed it toward Captain 
Swarthausen’s cottage, and plainly discerned the form 
of an Indian creeping under the bank, as if he were 
seeking a new position. The Quaker watched him a 
few minutes until he disappeared in the undergrowth 
which was so plentiful here, as everywhere else. 

He now directed his glass toward the river, and a 
flush lit up his face as he distinctly saw a stealthy move¬ 
ment under the bank. 

At first, even with the aid of the telescope, he was 
unable to make out what it was; but as it slowly crept 
along under the partial shelter of the undergrowth, he 
made out that it was a small Indian Canoe in which a 
single person was seated. 

Whoever this individual was, it was plain that he in- 


THE RED. PLUME 


II 


tended to conceal his movements, and so skillfully did 
he manage it, that when Fielding removed his glass and 
looked at it with the naked eye, he could detect nothin 
at all. 

Still he crept along until one-fourth the circumfer¬ 
ence of the lake had been passed, by which time the ca¬ 
noe was less than a mile distant. Here the man halted, 
as if fearful of coming any further. 

All this time Fielding was doing his utmost to detect 
the identity of the stranger, but as yet he had not suc¬ 
ceeded, for only a slight portion of his body was re¬ 
vealed, and that only now and then, the boat seemingly 
impelled by a power of its own. 

Only the stern of the canoe could now be seen, and 
for a long time that was as stationary as the island in 
the centre of the lake. Then the Friend distinctly saw a 
hunter’s cap raised over the gunwale of the canoe, and 
slowly waved to and fro, as one would swing a bell. 

This was done only once or twice, and then all was 
motionless again; but it was enough. The eye of the 
young man sparkled as he laid down his glass, and he 
walked back and forth in no little excitement. 

“ Most grievously am I mistaken, if that is not the 
hunter Judkins, and he is seeking to communicate with 
the man, Red Plume. We have need of such friends as 
these.” 

He picked up his glass again, but at this moment 
Mrs. Prescott touched his shoulder, and whispered: 

“ I am afraid something wrong is going on. I don’t 
like the actions of Lige; please come with me.” 


CHAPTER III 


RED PLUME 

“ What dost thou see?” asked Fielding without 
moving out of the room. 

“ I think Lige is signalling to some one in the wood.” 

“ I placed him there because I thought he would be 
less likely to see the heathen than thy husband; but 
truly I was mistaken. Do thou remain here while I go 
to him, but let me caution thee against approaching the 
window too close. It was a narrow escape I had from 
my rashness.” 

It was the wish of the young Quaker to come in upon 
Lige so softly as to detect him in the act, whatever it 
might be, but the fellow caught sight of him, and was 
as mum and motionless as the furniture of the room. 

| “ Hast thou discovered anything?” he inquired, as 
the African looked around at him. 

“ Nuffin.” 

“ Have seen no indications of the heathen ? ” 

“ Can’t ’zactly say dat, Mister Fielding.” 

“ Pray what is it? ” asked the latter, his conscience 
pricking him at his misjudging the fellow. 

“ I’ve seen two or free of dem sneakin’ round de 


12 


THE RED PLUME 


*3 


barn, and dere’s lots of dem in it. ’Spect dar’s whar de 
trouble will begin.” 

“ Thou talkest sensibly; keep a bright look-out.” 

“ Yes, sah.” 

Fielding passed to the room of Mr. Prescott, who, 
with rifle in hand, was cautiously peering out of the 
window commanding the approach of the wood, he 
having changed places with Lige, who had the rear of 
the house under his guardianship. 

The young man was in a dilemma. Fully aware of 
the violent temper of Mr. Prescott, he dreaded to 
arouse it by awakening his suspicion of his servant, 
and, at the same time, it seemed necessary to put him on 
his guard. 

Furthermore, he wished to place the negro under 
surveillance, without having him suspect it. The few 
words of conversation that had just passed between 
Lige and Fielding had almost, but not quite, convinced 
the latter of his honesty, and he desired to have the 
point cleared up, and to dissipate that dreadful sense of 
insecurity which was constantly creeping over him. 

He exchanged a few words with Mr. Prescott, inci¬ 
dentally mentioning that the Sioux were undoubtedly 
scattered and concealed, so as almost entirely to sur¬ 
round the house, and that they would not be long in 
discovering an unguarded point. 

This was all that he felt safe in saying, when he re¬ 
turned to his station; for he had a strong desire to 
watch the movements of that canoe that had come out 


14 


THE RED PLUME 


of Crescent River, and moved so cautiously around the 
coast of the lake. 

“ I trust thou misjudged thy servant,” said he, as he 
returned to his station. “ He seems to be on the alert, 
and quite trusty.” 

“ It may be so, John, but I am sorry that he was al¬ 
lowed to re-enter the house. I would rather have him 
on the outside.” 

“ Do thou endeavor to look in upon him when con¬ 
venient, and if thou seest anything wrong, instantly ap¬ 
prise me of it.” 

With this admonition the two separated, Mrs. Pres¬ 
cott going to the end room, which was her own bed¬ 
chamber, and was at the opposite side of the house from 
where her husband was stationed. 

Directing his field-glass toward the point where he 
had seen the signal from the canoe, he was not a little 
surprised and disappointed to find that the latter was 
gone. 

The place was so fixed in his mind that he could not 
mistake it, and there was nothing to be seen. Old Jud, 
the hunter, had changed his position in the few minutes 
during which Fielding had been absent from his post. 

The sun was still an hour high, and his slant rays 
penetrating through the woods in many places, lit up 
the surface of the lake, giving it a glowing splendor 
like unto molten gold. 

Turning his gaze toward the house of Swarthausen, 
everything was seen to be as lifeless as if no living 


THE RED PLUME 


*5 


being were within miles. If the family were still be¬ 
sieged, it was with the same persistent quiet with which 
the Prescotts themselves were surrounded. The Sioux 
were probably waiting for night, before striking what 
they intended to be the final blow. 

Fielding was gazing in this wandering manner, not 
knowing where to look for the canoe, but supposing 
that it had been drawn so far up under the bank as to 
make it invisible, when he made another discovery, that 
gave him greater wonder than before. 

From the source of the Crescent River, where the 
lake poured out its surplus water, he saw another boat 
issue, following precisely in the track of the canoe, 
which had preceded it by something over an hour. 

As he scrutinized this, however, he observed that it 
was of different construction, and considerably larger 
than the small vessel, and like that, contained but a sin¬ 
gle person. 

The wonderment of the Quaker was not a little in¬ 
creased when he recognized the boat as the identical 
one in which Pipkins and the girls had crossed the lake. 
The sail and even the small mast was gone—proof that 
the individual controlling it was taking every means to 
avoid observation. 

Fielding’s first thought was, that the party had been 
captured, and this was one of their captors proceeding 
to some point with the boat. 

But he could not satisfy himself on this point, as he 
could think of no reason for such a course being pur- 


i6 


THE RED PLUME 


sued. There must be some other explanation of the 
singular proceeding. 

Steadily the large boat followed in the wake of the 
smaller, taking precisely the same course, but checking 
its speed before it had proceeded to so great a distance. 

Now and then the Friend resumed his glass, and at¬ 
tempted to follow the movements of the boat with his 
eye, but found it so difficult that it practically amounted 
to nothing. 

The next moment the mystery of the occupant was 
explained. Something red flashed out upon the air, and 
the eye of the Friend sparkled again. 

“ Verily, it is Red Plume! ” 


CHAPTER IV 


THE FUGITIVES ON THE RIVER 

Red Plume, the friendly Sioux, had suddenly pre¬ 
sented himself to the cousins on the other side of the 
lake and warning them to keep out of sight, departed 
with the boat to give what help he could to their 
friends, who were in great danger. 

The sisters sat side by side. The face of the elder 
was blanched with her great fear, and she held her right 
arm around the waist of the younger, whose head was 
pillowed on her shoulder, while her face was covered 
with her two hands, pressing her handkerchief as if to 
keep back the overwhelming sofrow. 

In that hour of supreme woe, the sisters, with the 
trusting faith of childhood, were sending up petitions 
to the Great Being for the safety of those whom they 
had left behind, and who were in such dire extremity. 

Not a tear moistened the eye of Edith, who seemed 
to be gazing through the interstices of the under¬ 
growth, up the river and across the lake to her friends, 
who in turn were looking for her; but who shall doubt 
the great woe that was weighing her down, and almost 
checking the flow of the life-current in her veins? 

17 


i8 


THE RED PLUME 


Lillian was swayed like a leaf in the tempest. Her 
frame quivered and shook, and the hot tears dropped 
through her fingers, while she nestled, like a frightened 
bird, closer to her stronger sister, who drew her warmly 
and lovingly to her embrace. The arrow aimed the 
highest has the farthest to fall. Naturally light-hearted 
and joyous, with spirits like the morning sunlight, her 
depression was all the greater, and the darkness the 
more gloomy, when the change did come. 

They sat without speaking, for what could either say 
to comfort the other? There was but one Source to 
which they could look, and the hearts of both were 
earnestly fixed upon that blessed Refuge. 

Pipkins sat at the other end of the boat, now and then 
looking dolefully and askance at them. 

“ Jingo, this is rough! ” he repeated, as he began ner¬ 
vously searching his pockets. “ My pipe has gone out, 
and I hain’t got a match.” 

As is apt to be the case with those similarly circum¬ 
stanced, he examined each pocket at least a half-dozen 
times, continually “ pulling ” furiously at his pipe, as if 
there were a spark lingering somewhere in it. 

“No use,” he finally exclaimed, with a despairing 
look. “ The pipe is extinguished, and I hain’t a match. 
I say, Edith, you hain’t got such a thing as a lucifer 
about you? ” 

When he had repeated the question several times she 
merely swayed her head, without removing her fixed 
gaze from the direction of the lake. 


THE RED PLUME 


i9 


“ I don’t ’spose Lil has any? ” 

But no attention was paid to the hint, and he did not 
press it. 

“ Just as like as not we’ll have to stay here all night/'* 
he soliloquized; “ and I’ll catch cold, and be laid up a 
week. If I had a match it wouldn’t be so thundering 
bad—bless the Lord! ” 

All the time he was fumbling and thrusting his 
thumbs into his pockets, and his exclamation was 
caused by his fishing up the fraction of a match with 
the phosphorus upon it. 

“ Ain’t that jolly, now! ” he added, as he twisted up 
his last love-letter, the better to catch the flame. Then 
bending down, so that his body and the two sides of the 
boat kept away whatever puff of wind might be in the 
air, he carefully struck it upon the dry, painted board. 

The result was all that he could wish; and, a few 
seconds later, his head was enwreathed in the volumes 
of tobacco smoke that issued from his mouth. 

“ That mends things somewhat. Lillian, confound 
it! what’s the use of feeling so bad? ” 

But neither of the sisters paid any heed to this prac¬ 
tical question; and, after surveying them a moment or 
two, he added: 

“ Edith, hangnation! what’s the use? If you keep on 
that way you’ll make me feel bad.” 

This he considered an unanswerable appeal; and it 
did cause his cousin to turn her dark eyes reproach^ 
fully upon him. 


20 


THE RED PLUME 


“ How can we help it? ” 

“ I know—I know. But then cheer up—what’s the 
use? Try and keep it back on account of me. If you 
go on that way you’ll have me in the blubbering busi¬ 
ness, too, before long.” 

The few words uttered by Edith seemed to open her 
heart, and, for a few minutes, her grief was more vio¬ 
lent in its manifestations than Lillian’s; but, by-and-by, 
it spent itself with both, and they became more calm 
and composed. 

During these trying moments Augustus Pipkins sol¬ 
emnly smoked his meerschaum, and wondered which 
was the shortest route back to Chicago, and, whether, if 
a favoring breeze should spring up, it wouldn’t be a 
wise plan to crowd on all sail down the river, and get 
out of this dangerous neighborhood. 

He said nothing while his cousins were in the tem¬ 
pest of their grief. When it had passed over, and they 
had calmed down and uncovered their faces, he ven¬ 
tured to console them in his own peculiar way. 

“ I don’t believe the folks are all killed. It would 
take considerable time for the Indians to do that.” 

“ Dolph, how can you talk so! ” was the reproving 
response of Edith, who could scarcely restrain another 
outburst. 

“ I—I meant to comfort you,” he stammered; “ but 
that’s the way I always put my foot in it. I told our col¬ 
ored washerwoman, when she was blubbering about her 
little boy that kicked the bucket, that she ought to be 


THE RED PLUME 


21 


thankful for it, because, if he had lived to grow up, he 
wouldn t have been anything but a nigger; and never, 
after that, would she put a smitch of starch in my shirts, 
except just where I didn’t want it.” 

“ I wonder whether Red Plume will get there soon 
enough to help them ? ” said Lillian, whose face showed 
that some degree of hope was returning. 

“ I think so,” replied her sister. “ If—if he had not, 
we should hear the shots of the Indians, and see the 
smoke of the burning buildings; but I haven’t heard the 
report of a gun since he went away.” 

“ Sh!” 

At that instant the distant sound of the rifles fired by 
the Sioux, as Lige rushed into the house, came across 
the lake, and penetrated the concealment of the girls. 

“ What does that mean ? ” asked Lillian, trembling 
again with her nervous fear. 

“ Oh, that’s nothing! ” replied Pipkins, still smoking 
his pipe. “ I’ve read in Cooper that the redskins fire 
promiscuously when they get a chance, and it ain’t 
likely they’ve killed more than one or two of your folks; 
but then Cooper always makes his females get shot at 
the last minute, so we won’t quote him as authority.” 

“ I wish old Jud would come,” added Lillian; “ why 
did I not think to ask Red Plume about him? ” 

“ They seem to be together nearly all the time,” re¬ 
plied Edith. 

“ I tell you what,” said Pipkins, with the air of a 
man who was about to reveal a tremendous secret, 
I’ve got a plan! ” .. v. -- 


22 


THE RED PLUME 


He puffed his meerschaum more vigorously than 
ever, while the cousins looked as if they did not under¬ 
stand what it meant. 

“ You have a plan for what? ” inquired Edith, seeing 
that he was waiting to be questioned. 

“ For our escape. Would you like to hear it? ” 

Supposing his scheme included all , he received an 
affirmative reply. 

“ We must keep out of sight till dark, as your friend 
Red Plume remarked. But when it is fairly dark, we’ll 
hoist sail, and let her went, till daylight, when we’ll 
lie-to till night, and keep the thing up till we reach some 
of the settlements.” 

“ You don’t mean for us to go and leave father and 
mother behind? ” asked Lillian, in amazement. 

“ The idea exactly.” 

“ You cannot be in earnest, certainly, Dolph? ” 

“ Never more in earnest in my life. We can’t help 
them any by staying, for like as not they are all killed 
by this time—” 

“ There, there, don’t,” she plead, raising her hand 
and turning her head, as if to ward off the fearful pro¬ 
posal. 

“ Beg pardon—at it again, I see—but what I wanted 
to get at was, that it’s the best thing all around, for we 
can’t help them. If they’re still alive, they’ve got their 
hands full, and will be glad to get us out their way, and 
they won’t have us to think about—don’t you see ? ” 

But neither of the sisters would consent for a mo- 


THE RED PLUME 


*3 


ment to any such movement. It looked too much like 
desertion, and besides, they would be disobeying the 
parting injunction of Red Plume, who certainly ought 
to be able to give the best advice about such matters. 

It was undeniably the truth, that the plan of Pipkins 
was a good one. There was every prospect of their 
being able to reach Forest Grove, the nearest settle¬ 
ment, by using care and circumspection in their move¬ 
ments ; but, when the young man found that his scheme 
could not be forced upon his cousins, he seemed to feel 
that some explanation was necessary. 

“ You see it ain’t myself that I care about, girls— 
that has never once entered my head—but it is you .” 

“ We do not wish to leave the vicinity until our par¬ 
ents can go with us.” 

“ I was about to say that my vacation expires this 
week, and if I expect to reach Chicago in time, I ought 
to be on my way this very night. Old Blifkins gets as 
mad as thunder when any of the clerks disappoint him. 
That is the only thing that gives me any anxiety.” 

“ You ought to be home then, by all means,” replied 
Edith. “ Lillian and I will go ashore and wait in the 
woods, while you can take the boat and make a good 
start to-night.” * 

Pipkins started, and looked earnestly at the speaker, 
but her face was serious, and his heart throbbed at the 
unexpected hope thus held out to him. 

He was seated on the very prow of the Boat, so that 
he was perched quite up in the air. 


24 


THE RED PLUME 


What answer he would have made to this proposi¬ 
tion, had the opportunity been given, it is impossible to 
say, but just then Lillian started, and half rose to her 
feet, with such an expression of terror upon her face, 
that Pipkins instantly slid down from his perch, and 
demanded what the mischief was now on hand. 

“ I saw an Indian coming up the river in a canoe.” 

“ Where?” fairly gasped Pipkins, crouching down 
and glaring about him, as if there were instant danger 
of collision. 

“ It is a long way off. I saw something move just in 
line with you. I took it to be an insect at first, creeping 
over your coat, and was about to speak, when I noticed 
that it was a canoe coming up the other side the river.” 

“ I don’t see it,” said the young man, cautiously look¬ 
ing in the direction indicated by Lillian. 

“ Nor I,” added Edith. 

“ It has gone; it seems to be coming along the shore, 
as though the Indian was trying to keep out of sight.” 

“ If that is the case, I think we had better get out of 
this,” said Pipkins. “ Let us get nearer shore and hide 
in the woods somewhere, till the savage goes by.” 

“ Do you think there is any danger of our being 
seen ? ” 

“ Shouldn’t wonder, but I can’t say sure.” 

Grasping the limbs and undergrowth (the mast hav¬ 
ing been previously unshipped), the boat was drawn as 
close under the bank as was possible. 

A hurried debate followed as to whether it was best 


THE RED PLUME 


25 


to remain where they were, or to step ashore, and go 
further into the wood. Pipkins was anxious to do the 
latter, and Lillian was inclined to think it was best, but 
Edith, with characteristic sense, said that the boat 
would be as likely to be seen, whether they were in it or 
not, and if seen, an Indian would require but a few min¬ 
utes to trace them through the woods. Nothing, there¬ 
fore, was to be gained by leaving the boat. 

It was decided that each should keep his or her head 
below the gunwale, so as not to be seen by any one pass¬ 
ing, and wait before raising the head until sure that the 
canoe had disappeared around the bend above. 

“ Sh! down ” whispered Lillian, “ I see it again, 
only a little way off.” 

Every head was ducked, and for the next five min¬ 
utes, the listeners could hear the pulsations of their own 
hearts. Then Edith called the attention of Pipkins to 
the fact that he was smoking, and might betray their 
presence by that means. Loth to allow his pipe to go 
out, and yet sensible of the risk, he held it down in the 
bottom of the boat, giving it a slight puff now and then 
to keep it from expiring altogether. 

Soon the soft dip of a paddle could be heard, and 
their hearts almost stopped beating as they speedily 
learned that it was approaching. 

Still praying that they might not be seen, all kept si¬ 
lent; but nigher and nigher it came, until the rustling 
of the undergrowth showed that the canoe was close at 
hand, and coming still closer each second. 


26 


THE RED PLUME 


Hardly conscious of what he did, Pipkins raised his 
head, and no pen can picture his horrified consternation, 
as he saw the boat less than a dozen feet distant, and 
heading straight toward them. 


CHAPTER V 


OLD JUD 

“ Wal, now, if that doesn't beat all natur! ” ex¬ 
claimed a gruff, cheery voice, as the tiny canoe glided 
gracefully beside the larger boat, and a grizzled, rough 
borderer looked over in it at the blanched faces and 
cowering forms. “ Thar’s my little Rosebud,” he 
added, his homely face relaxing into a pleased smile, as 
he recognized Lillian, “ and my Queen Edith,” he 
added, turning toward the sister; “ and, if I ain’t pow¬ 
erfully mistaken, that’s Spider Legs.” 

It would be hard to picture the relief experienced by 
all, as they recognized in their visitor, not some fero¬ 
cious Sioux in his war paint, but Old Jud, the hunter, 
the very man, whom, of all others, they were longing 
to see. 

He shook hands with them all, and then inquired 
what was meant by their peculiar situation. In a few 
minutes everything was told. During the narration, he 
sat perfectly motionless, with his keen gray eyes fixed 
upon Edith, as if he did not wish to lose a word she ut¬ 
tered. 

“ Old Jud,” as he was commonly called, was a man 
about fifty years of age, tall, thin to emaciation, with 
27 


28 


THE RED PLUME 


sparse, iron-gray hair, and a short cropped grizzly 
beard, which covered his face to his eyes. His teeth 
were as sound and clear as pearls, and when he laughed, 
which he did frequently, by expanding his broad mouth 
into a still broader grin, and opening it without making 
the least articulate sound, it added not a little to the pre¬ 
possessing character of his face. 

His brows were heavy and beetling, the gray eyes 
shining beneath like the watch fires of the soul. His 
skin was as brown as a nut, and his muscles like iron, 
and, furthermore, his great height was made to look 
much greater than it really was, by a decided stoop of 
the shoulders. 

Such characters as Jud generally own a horse or 
a dog, or more generally both, but he owned neither. 
What was certainly rather curious, he seemed to dis¬ 
like a canine animal, but regarding the equine, he 
showed no dislike, but rather indifference. He was a 
sort of amphibious animal. He reached and returned 
from his hunting and trapping territory, by means of 
water, never travelling across wide stretches of prairie 
or open country, when on one of these expeditions, un¬ 
less he was compelled to do so; but he was nearly al¬ 
ways to be found in the vicinity of some stream, which 
communicated directly with the navigable rivers below. 

Although Pipkins had never noticed Jud, yet the lat¬ 
ter had “ taken his measure ” some time before, when 
he had seen him at a considerable distance, and he 
formed no very exalted opinion of him. 


THE RED PLUME 


2 9 


“ Me and Red Plume was on a hunt yesterday,” said 
he, in answer to the numerous questions, speaking with 
a quiet deliberation that was peculiarly effective in giv¬ 
ing hope and confidence to his listeners, “ when we seed 
things ahead that looked rather squally. We come onto 
a camp-fire, about a dozen miles down the river, this 
noon, and the redskin said right away that it was a 
party of his people on their way to the lake. I wasn’t 
so sartin of it, but he started ahead on the trail, and told 
me to hurry along with the canoe.” 

“ Why didn’t you come together? ” asked Lillian. 

“ Wal, the principal reason was that I thought as 
how we might need the canoe. You see, if there is 
trouble, and it looks as though you folks had better 
leave, we’re gwine to take you off in boats, being as it 
will be handier to manage than if we tramp through the 
woods.” 

“ Then you do think we shall get away together ? ” 
asked Lillian, her face all aglow with the bright hope. 

“ That’s what we’re going to try to do, Rosebud,” re¬ 
plied the hunter, his grizzled features lighting up with 
affection as he looked upon the trusting girl. 

“ And we are to wait here? ” inquired Edith. 

“ Depend on it, gals, that what Red Plume told you 
was for the best. There ain’t many things about the 
woods that that ’ere redskin don’t know. What airthly 
use can you be there ? ” 

“ But suppose the Sioux withdraw,” added Edith, 
“ and no one is injured in the house? They will be safe, 


30 


THE RED PLUME 


but how will it be with us, especially if they find out 
that we are somewhere in the woods? Indeed I think 
they must know it already.” 

“ No doubt about that; they couldn’t help seeing you 
going across the lake.” 

“ Then is not our situation dangerous ? ” 

“ You forget you’re hid.” 

“We remember that, and remember, too, that the 
first man coming up the river discovered us.” 

“ That was your own fault. I seed you afore you 
hauled yourselves further under the bank. Even then I 
wouldn’t have got eyes on you, if it hadn’t been for 
Spider Legs roosting up on the bow as if he were stuck 
out for a clothing sign, and puffing away like a steam 
engine.” 

“ You didn’t see the smoke, now, did you? ” inquired 
Pipkins, sojnewhat red in the face at this “ personal 
allusion.” 

“ When you hauled the boat further under, and he 
hopped down from his roost, I couldn’t see hide nor 
hair of you—but all I had to do was to foller the streak 
of smoke, and that brought me straight to the spot.” 

“ Thunder! ” exclaimed Pipkins, as he knocked the 
ashes from his meerschaum, “ if that’s the case, I’ll shut 
up shop.” 

“ Then we are to remain here until you or some one 
returns ? ” 

“ That’s the idee.” 

“ But for how long? ” asked Lillian. 


THE RED PLUME 


3 * 


“ Very likely till morning. When we’re trying to 
help the others, I won’t forgit to keep an eye in this di¬ 
rection, and somebody will be along to see you by day¬ 
light at least.” 

“ I hope they will be friends ” remarked Pipkins, 
with a ghastly grin. “ You see we haven’t got as much 
as a revolver—” 

“ What would you do with a revolver, if you had 
it? ” laughed Jud. 

“ A man who has fought as many duels as I have has 
some right to be considered a pretty good shot,” re¬ 
plied Pipkins, with a desperate attempt at bluster. 

“ If I get a chance I’ll send you a cannon to practice 
on,” laughed Jud; “and that reminds me that young 
Havens has come home rather suddenly to help put 
down these Sioux.” 

“ Where is he ? ” asked Lillian, rather more eagerly 
than her cousin liked. 

“ I heard he was down at Fort Grandon, but it ain’t 
likely he’ll be able to git up here in time to be of any 
help. But it won’t do for me to wait; Red Plume is 
expecting me; and keep quiet—cheer up, and hope for 
the best.” 

And with this parting, the hunter sped swiftly up the 
stream; and, if ever earnest prayers went up to the 
Throne of Grace for the success of a daring undertak¬ 
ing, they ascended from the hearts of the two sisters as 
their friend vanished from sight. 


CHAPTER VI 


THE TWO SCOUTS 

We have already shown how the hunter Jud, after 
leaving the river, coursed along the shore of the lake, 
halting at no great distance from the Prescott cottage. 

In doing this his object was to communicate with and 
discover his Indian comrade, Red Plume—a delicately 
difficult task, when at the same time it was necessary 
to avoid the other treacherous members of his race. 

His supposition was that the friendly Sioux was 
either in the house or in its immediate vicinity, and he 
purposely exposed his canoe to any one in the building 
who might be looking out upon the water for him. He 
knew his dusky friend was expecting his appearance, 
and one glimpse of the boat would be sufficient; so he 
cautiously advanced as near as was prudent, and then 
halted under the bank. 

Whether Red Plume was in the house or not, he 
could not determine. As yet he had received no notifi¬ 
cation of such being the fact; but, to make sure, he 
made the signal we have described, by swinging his 
hunting cap over the stern of the canoe. 

Receiving no response to this, after waiting a short 
time, he shoved his boat further under the bank, con- 
32 


THE RED PLUME 


33 


vinced that the Sioux had not succeeded in entering the 
house. It now remained for him to reach him by some 
audible signal, such as was in common use between 
them when hunting. 

There was great risk in making an outcry, for no 
matter how skillfully he might imitate the call of some 
animal or bird, it would be sure to reach hostile ears 
that would suspect its meaning. 

Fortunately, the necessity was saved him; for while 
he was hesitating, the bushes parted, and Red Plume 
stood before him. 

This remarkable redskin had been looking for the 
canoe of his friend, and had seen it from the first mo¬ 
ment it entered the lake, and, as soon as it halted, he 
made haste to join his friend. 

The meeting, as a matter of course, was cordial, as it 
always was between these two singular characters; but 
it was not their custom to indulge in any demonstra¬ 
tions such as would have been natural between two 
comrades of long and tried friendship. There was busi¬ 
ness before them. 

A few minutes sufficed for Red Plume to hear all that 
Jud had to say, and to impart the information he pos¬ 
sessed. 

The Sioux were mostly on the other side of the 
house, in the wood, where several of them were holding 
the house under close surveillance, but they seemed to 
be waiting until the cover of night before making any 
further demonstration. There were several of them in 


34 


THE RED PLUME 


the barn, although what their ultimate intentions were 
could only be conjectured. 

The hunters decided upon attempting two perform¬ 
ances, both of which were perilously difficult, but 
which they believed could be accomplished. Red 
Plume proposed to enter the cottage, acquaint the in¬ 
mates with the precise condition of affairs on the out¬ 
side, and instruct them as to the course for them to pur¬ 
sue in the attempts that would probably be made by the 
Sioux in the course of the next few hours. 

But before doing this, it was determined to free Cap¬ 
tain Swarthausen from his enforced imprisonment, as 
he and Muggins would add not a little to the strength 
of the party, which needed every arm and gun that they 
could possibly procure. 

The Sioux had learned that the captain was now be¬ 
sieged by only two Indians, while the others were con¬ 
gregated near the Prescott house, so as to be prepared 
for an assault or any peculiar method of attack that 
their leader might wish. Before it could be prevented, 
the hunters could steal upon these redskins, speedily put 
them hors du combat, and release the beleaguered fam- 
ily. 

Then, with the additional force thus gained, there 
was some prospect of doing something against the main 
body of redskins. 

As it looked as though it might be necessary to get 
the Prescotts out of their house, and to flee with them, 
the cautious Red Plume determined to make everything 
ready for this contingency. 


THE RED PLUME 


35 


Accordingly, he sped with all haste to where the fugi¬ 
tives were concealed in the river, placed them in as se¬ 
cure a place as possible in the wood, and then propelled 
the boat to a point as near the building as it was discreet 
to approach. 

By the time this was done the sun was setting, and 
time had become precious. A half hour later the two 
had approached within a few hundred yards of Captain 
Swarthausen’s house, and began carefully reconnoit- 
ering it. 

The result of this was the discovery of the curious 
fact that one of the two redskins referred to had with¬ 
drawn and joined the main body, while the other com¬ 
posed the entire besieging force. 

The audacious villain was stretched out on the bank, 
directly in front of the house, where his own body was 
effectually protected from any danger from those 
within, while with loaded rifle, he commanded the en¬ 
trance to the building. 

Had those within been aware of this curious situa¬ 
tion of affairs, they could have emerged from the back 
windows and walked away without fear of disturbance; 
but Captain Schwarthausen very naturally believed that 
every portion of his home was continually scanned by 
his enemies, vigilant and watchful for the first oppor¬ 
tunity to accomplish their design. 

When Red Plume became certain of the precise con¬ 
dition of affairs, he took upon himself the task of dis¬ 
posing of the savage who was taking matters as coolly 


36 


THE RED PLUME 


as if he had everything his own way, and w T as going to 
wait until the ripe fruit fell into his hand. 

With the stealthy, crouching tread of the panther, he 
stole upon his unconscious victim, who looked continu¬ 
ally in the front, and never once in the rear. When the 
two grappled, the struggle was brief and fierce, but Red 
Plume emerged from it without a scratch, while his an¬ 
tagonist never emerged from it at all. 

It now remained to apprise Captain Swarthausen of 
the raising of the siege. As Red Plume was in the 
usual paint and dress of his people, the probabilities 
were that he would not be recognized, but would be 
fired upon the instant he showed himself. 

As it was now almost dark, there was some fear that 
Jud, in his half-civilized dress, would also be subject 
(although in a less degree) to the danger. On account 
of the proximity of their enemies, it would not do to 
halloo or make any outcry, as their suspicions would in¬ 
stantly be aroused; so, perforce, he did as follows: 

Placing his hunting-cap on the end of his ramrod, 
he waved it back and forth over his head, to show that 
he had no gun with him, and at the same time had 
something to say to those within. 

Captain Swarthausen at this moment was on the 
watch, and detected the figure approaching; but in the 
gloom, rendered deeper by the shadows of the trees, he 
failed to identify it. Believing it to be some device of 
his foes, he raised the hammer of his rifle and drew a 
bead upon it. 


THE RED PLUME 


37 


But while his finger was already pressing the trigger, 
it struck him that there was something so un-Indian- 
like in the appearance of the form approaching that he 
lowered his piece again, and scrutinized it more closely. 
Still unable to make it out, he hailed it, 

“ Halt! who comes there ? ” 

The hunter obeyed orders, and called back his name. 

This was sufficient, but the captain did not under¬ 
stand precisely how matters stood. 

“ Be careful, Jud; we are surrounded by Indians.” 

“ Thar isn't a redskin near you,” was the reply, as 
he strode toward the door, which opened before him. 

“ Lor’ bless you, Jud! ” exclaimed Mrs. Muggins, as 
she threw her arms around his neck, and hugged and 
kissed him in her transport of joy. “ I can’t tell you 
how glad we are to see you.” 

“ Then ’spose you don’t try jist now,” he replied, not 
rudely disengaging the muscular arms which were al¬ 
most suffocating him. 

Captain Swarthausen and Muggins shook him cor¬ 
dially by the hand, and almost overwhelmed him with 
their exuberant delight. 

While they were talking, Red Plume appeared beside 
them, with the suddenness and silence of a shadow, and 
he was greeted none the less warmly. 

It required but little time to state what was wanted, 
and to agree upon their course of action. Mrs. Mug¬ 
gins was to be taken down the river, and left with 
Lillian and Edith, while her big husband joined the ef¬ 
fective force that was to operate against the Sioux. 


38 


THE RED PLUME 


“ And I shall have to leave the house entirely unpro¬ 
tected ? ” remarked Captain Swarthausen. 

“ I don’t jist see how you’re going to help it,” re¬ 
plied Jud. 

“ Nor I neither; so don’t let me delay you.” 

Mrs. Muggins was placed in the canoe of the captain, 
which, when not in use, lay moored under the bank, 
while Red Plume took upon himself the task of convey¬ 
ing her to the retreat in the woods. 

As the good lady moved away, she gave her trem¬ 
bling husband her parting injunctions, enforcing them 
by threats of the direst penalties; and there is no tell¬ 
ing when she would have ceased, had not her escort per¬ 
emptorily ordered her to do so, from fear that the tu¬ 
mult would reach the Indians further up the lake. 

A few minutes later, Red Plume safely deposited his 
passenger in the wood among the startled but pleased 
females, and near the soundly sleeping Pipkins; and 
with an additional word of cheer, he bade them good- 
by, and swiftly vanished in the gloom. 

The Indian that had fallen beneath the hand of Red 
Plume furnished an additional rifle, so that all were 
now armed. Muggins was not the best of support in 
such a crisis as this; but, as he was removed from all 
fear of his spouse, there was a good prospect of turning 
him to some account. 

In the increasing darkness, it was impossible to see 
across the lake. As the readiest means of reaching 
their destination, the four men entered the canoe, which 


THE RED PLUME 


39 


was pressed down to its very gunwales, and under the 
skillful propulsion of Red Plume, they sped with far 
greater swiftness than they could had they proceeded 
through the woods. 

They had gone the greater part of the journey, when 
some alarm was caused by hearing the Sioux signalling 
to each other. The Indian stopped paddling and 
listened. 

They were low, tremulous whistles, that had a won¬ 
derful distinctness in this still summer night, and most 
of them came from the wood near the house, although 
several showed that some of the redskins were at quite 
a distance in another quarter. 

“ I wonder whether that concerns us? ” remarked 
Captain Swarthausen in an undertone, looking inquir¬ 
ingly toward Jud. 

“ Can’t say; I’ll ask Red Plume.” 

The savage shook his head to signify that it had no 
reference to them, and resumed his paddle. 

Almost immediately the canoe slid softly to the 
shore, within a dozen feet of where the other two boats 
lay, and the four men stepped softly out. 

“ Here we are to stay,” said Jud, by way of explana¬ 
tion, till Red Plume comes back agin.” 

“ But suppose he doesn’t come back ? ” inquired the 
captain. 

“ In that case he will send me word.” 

“ Send you word ? ” repeated Muggins, in amaze- 


40 


THE RED PLUME 


ment; “ how in the name of creation will he do that? ” 
“ Just as you heard them redskins do a few minutes 
ago.” 

“ Ah, I understand.” 


CHAPTER VII 


TREACHERY 

Fielding the Friend, when he discovered that both 
Red Plume and Jud, the hunter, were in his immediate 
neighborhood, became so interested in watching and 
speculating upon their movements, that he forgot 
wholly the suspicions that had been renewed in his 
breast regarding the fealty of Lige and for the time the 
negro passed from his mind altogether. 

The only one who kept the suspected party in mind 
was Mrs. Prescott. More than once she softly stole to 
the door of the room; but, after she had done this sev¬ 
eral times, and detected nothing suspicious, her misgiv¬ 
ings fled, and she ceased her visits almost entirely or 
made them much more rarely. She concluded, too, that 
Fielding would take all necessary precautions, and that 
it was all important that she should not neglect her 
duty as sentinel. 

And thus it came to pass that Lige was left to him¬ 
self for the greater part of the time. The cunning Af¬ 
rican heard the cat-like step of Mrs. Prescott, although 
the good lady could not have believed it, and he knew 
well enough the art of dissembling. 

In the heart of this evil negro rankled the most vin- 
41 


42 


THE RED PLUME 


dictive feelings toward the persons whose safety he held 
in his hands. The Quaker had detected him in stealing, 
and had spoken honest words of reproof; Mr. Prescott, 
when provoked, had punished him severely, and the fel¬ 
low’s bosom was filled with intense resentment toward 
him and all his family. 

Lige was looking for Jarrik. Between this merciless 
Sioux and the treacherous African a sort of under¬ 
standing existed, and both were working for the same 
end. 

When he felt secure from detection on the part of 
those in the rear, Lige leaned his head out the window, 
Rooked carefully around, and waved his hand. Not a 
shot was fired, and he was convinced that the chief had 
not only seen him, but that he had understood him. 

In the course of the next ten minutes the traitor saw 
something flit from one tree to another, and then dis¬ 
cerned the tufted head of an Indian cautiously pro¬ 
truded to view. Lige shook his hand again, and the 
redskin darted to the tree nearest the house which of¬ 
fered any chance of screening his body. 

For the space of fifteen minutes matters remained in 
statu quo. The Sioux manifestly was waiting until as¬ 
sured that the coast was clear. 

Lige signalled to him several times, and finally he 
glided, with marvellous speed, across the clearing, and 
reached the shelter of the kitchen, without being seen 
by any of those upon the watch, excepting the traitor 
who was luring him onward. 


THE RED PLUME 


43 


It was necessary for the savage to ascend the side of 
the kitchen and come across the roof, before he could 
enter the room where the negro was impatiently await¬ 
ing him. The lower story was so secured that he could 
not force an instant entrance into it, and should he at¬ 
tempt to work his way, the noise would reach and alarm 
the ears of those within. 

Here, therefore, he crouched, directly beneath the 
shelter of the shutter, waiting until assured that it was 
safe to clamber up the roof, and into the building. 

Suddenly the trained ear of the chief heard a noise, 
as if the shutter were being cautiously unfastened. This 
was better still, as it would open the way for his brother 
warriors to swarm in after him. 

Very softly and stealthily was the shutter dallied 
with, while the redskin fixed his eyes exultantly upon 
it, and waited for it to open. 

The next moment it was shoved back, and he raised 
up and thrust his head and shoulders in preparatory to 
doing the same with his body. 

“ Much lub pale face ob night—” 

At this interesting juncture, a kettle full of scalding 
water was dashed full in the face of the grinning red¬ 
skin. 

“ Ain’t you ashamed yourself, you big nigger, tryin’ 
to steal in de house dat way. I’ll tech you how to ’buse 
my baby Cato.” 

And the furious Dinah jerked the shutter to again, 
and fastened it in a twinkling, while Jarrik, “ the noble 


44 


THE RED PLUME 


red man,” leaped high in air, with a howl of agony, and 
plunged headlong for the lake, to check the intense 
pain that was driving him wild. 

“ Verily it would be doing an act of kindness to put 
thee out of thy fmisery,” said Fielding, who witnessed 
the headlong flight, and understood what it meant. 
“ And I will consult friend Prescott to see what he 
thinks.” 

But friend Presco'tt needed no consultation. He 
ran to the front of the house upon hearing the out¬ 
cry, and as Jarrik plunged beneath the water, and 
came to the surface again, he offered such a tempting 
target that it was accepted, and when the Sioux sank 
beneath the water a second time, he remained there. 

Baffled, chagrined and malignant, Lige knelt at the 
window, feeling that his revenge had only been post¬ 
poned. 

It was now quite dark. None of those within the 
building came near him, and he sat alone, looking for 
some 'further sign from his dusky allies. 

He had not long to wait. A little more to the left, 
he dimly made out a form, stealing forward on his 
hands and knees, following almost in the footsteps of 
the destroyed chief. Glancing around to make sure 
that he was not observed, Lige leaned out of the win¬ 
dow and beckoned to him to come on. 
f The savage made several signals with his hand, as 
he advanced, which gave the African great uneasiness, 
as he feared they would attract the attention of Field- 


THE RED PLUME 


45 


ing or Prescott. But all was still, and by-and-by he ap¬ 
proached the kitchen so near that he was shut out from 
view. 

The traitor now impatiently looked for his appear¬ 
ance upon the roof, but the minutes wore away, and 
nothing was seen of him. 

It could not be supposed that he was about to com¬ 
mit the same blunder as his predecessor, and lay him¬ 
self liable to the same fearful consequences. 

Was he not rather waiting for the deeper gloom of 
the night ? Or was he making ready to fire the build- 
ing? 

Perhaps— 

But at this moment the form of the Indian suddenly 
rose over the eaves, and he crawled over the kitchen 
roof with the agility of a monkey. 

The overjoyed negro raised high the sash, and stood 
back so as to give him free entrance. The next instant 
the redskin bounded through the window into the 
room. 

If the treacherous negro had been infuriated at the 
mishap of Jarrik, who shall describe his sensations 
when, at this juncture, he recognized the Indian whom 
he had just admitted as no other than Red Plume, the 
chivalrous friend of the whites ? 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE CONFERENCE 

So overwhelming was the chagrin of the negro, 
Lige, when he found that he had admitted the Indian, 
Red Plume, that it was impossible for him to conceal 
his emotions. 

“ Whar de debbil you come from ? ” he asked, stand¬ 
ing motionless, and staring at the Sioux. 

“ Hooh! much glad to see you, ” returned the latter, 
who, it may be conjectured, had some suspicion of the 
predicament of the African. 

“ I didn’t know it was you ” muttered the latter, to 
himself, but in words that were understood by the iron- 
limbed Indian. For one moment the latter stared 
fixedly at the negro, and there was a dangerous gleam 
in his eye, as he rested his hand upon the handle of his 
knife. 

In that one moment Red Plume was debating 
whether to bury his knife to the haft in the dark, 
treacherous bosom before him, or to wait a little longer. 
Only for a second did the mental struggle last. Well 
would it have been had the first thought of the Indian 
been acted upon then and there, and the negro been 

46 


THE RED PLUME 


47 


cast out of this life into the other, even had it been 
without a second’s warning! 

But the grasp of Red Plume loosened upon his wea¬ 
pon, and without a word of explanation, he strode out 
of the room into the apartment where Mr. and Mrs. 
Prescott were impatiently awaiting him. 

Fielding, as the night closed in, and the partial 
moonlight illuminated the lake and wood, had detected 
the stealthy approach of Red Plume, who established 
his identity by means of signals, so that the young 
Quaker instantly announced the fact to his friends, and 
thus secured his immunity against injury from those 
within. 

With the cunning, characteristic of his people, the 
Sioux effectually concealed his individuality from the 
savages around him, so that his unchallenged approach 
to the beleaguered building can be readily understood. 

Although aware that the friendly Sioux was in the 
building, yet Fielding deemed it unsafe to leave his 
station; so he gave that privilege to the parents, while 
in the silence of the building he was able to overhear 
everything that passed between the parties. 

“ Oh, Red Plume! ” exclaimed Mrs. Prescott, rush¬ 
ing forward, and grasping one of his hands in both of 
hers, “ tell me where are Lillian and Edith ? Are they 
safe ? Are they alive ? ” 

“ Dey alive. ” 

“ Ftave the Indians got them ? ” 

“ No—they hid in woods. ” 


48 


THE RED PLUME 


“Oh, thank God!” ejaculated the happy mother, 
sinking upon her knees in her gratitude to Heaven. 
“ They are safe! they are safe! ” 

Mr. Prescott stood trembling like a leaf; for a mo¬ 
ment he was unable to speak, from his efforts to repress 
his excitement. 

“Tell me all about it, Red Plume. ” 

“ They went down ribber in boat—me find ’em—hid 
in woods—Sioux can’t find—wait dere till me come— 
or till Sioux go away—den come in house agin. ” 

“ You cannot understand what a load you have lifted 
from my heart, ” responded the father, taking the hand 
of the Indian, and pressing it. 

The dim light of a kerosene lamp, turned down, was 
burning in the room, so that the three could easily dis¬ 
tinguish each other. 

“ I suppose Pipkins is there? ” 

“ Yes, dey take care ob him,” replied the Sioux, who, 
we have reason to suspect, was not without a slight 
tinge of waggishness in his disposition. 

“ And where is Captain Swarthausen ? ” 

“ He out dere—wait fur me—he wid old Jud. ” 
“Old Jud!” exclaimed the delighted Mr. Prescott. 
“ And is he with you? We have more friends than we 
imagined. ” 

“ Hello, up dar! ” called out Dinah, who, from the 
bototm of the stairs had been listening to the conversa¬ 
tion, “ whar am my baby ? Whar Cato ? ” 

“ Dunno, ” was the reply of Red Plume; “ no seen 
him. ” 


THE RED PLUME 


49 


“ Wal, Red Plume, if you want me to be your friend, 
you jist find dat baby, and brought him in. If he’s been 
runnin’ into trouble hisself, I’ll gib him de biggest 
spankin’ dat he eber have—but Lor’-a-massy! de way 
I lub dat little feller am orful! Don’t forgit to brought 
him in. ” 

And with this parting admonition, Dinah went away 
from the foot of the stairs to resume her guardianship 
o'f the lower story of the building. 

Mrs. Prescott, the mother, had heard that her chil¬ 
dren were safe; that was enough. She asked no more. 
All thought of her present danger sank out of sight in 
the remembrance of that blissful truth. 

Red Plume passed to the upper room, followed by 
Prescott, where Fielding was awaiting him. 

“ I am right glad to meet thee, ” quietly but cordially 
remarked the Friend, as he shook the hand of their 
dusky visitor. 

Red Plume was an Indian, with an Indian’s shrewd¬ 
ness, and it was plain from his manner that he held the 
quiet Quaker in profound respect, if not friendship. 
He answered all his questions, and succeeded, in his 
characteristic way, in imparting all the information at 
his disposal, regarding their friends upon the outside, 
and their expectations of rescuing those within. 

There were two probabilities regarding this assault 
of the Sioux—the first of which was almost too good 
to come to pass. That was, that being discouraged by 
the vigorous resistance with which they had been met, 


THE RED PLUME 


5 ° 

they would withdraw and steal away during the night. 

Their backwardness in making any determined at¬ 
tack on the building, gave some slight probability to 
this; but Red Plume had no belief in it. On the con¬ 
trary, he knew enough of his race to understand that, 
having lost several of their warriors, they were not 
likely to depart until this account was made even by 
the death of an equal number of their enemies. 

He did not deem it at all unlikely that runners had 
already been despatched for additional help, and that 
the morrow’s sun might shine upon a hundred yelling 
miscreants all clamorous for the lives of the innocent 
ones within and without the building. 

Red Plume, therefore, advised that they should keep 
up an unremitting watch, and resist to the utmost every 
attempt of the Sioux to gain the least advantage. If 
they should make an assault there was a prospect of 
creating a diversion; and if it was found that the 
building could not be saved, the flight would be at¬ 
tempted under cover of this in the rear. 

There would be great peril in such an effort, but 
there was no choice between it and death, and there 
was hope, that under the confusion and turmoil of an 
unexpected assault of the whites upon the Sioux, it 
would be possible to hurry the inmates into the boats, 
and shove off into the lake before their escape could be 
frustrated. 

Red Plume showed his good sense by examining 
the interior of the house from top to bottom. He had 


THE RED PLUME 


5 1 

been within before, and had a general idea of the ar¬ 
rangement of the rooms; but in a crisis like this, he 
could not be master of the situation, without an unmis¬ 
takable acquaintance with the entire structure of the 
building. 

Prescott, with lamp in hand, led him on this search, 
and the black eyes of the Sioux took in every weak and 
strong point, as one would have viewed a panorama 
passing before his eyes. 

When the survey was completed the friendly Indian 
gave his views in the single comment: 

“ Much fear fire! look out barn! ” 

A sort of understanding was arrived at between the 
friends without and within, so as to enable them to 
communicate with each other and then Red Plume 
made ready for return. 

This was hardly less difficult than his approach, as 
there was no knowing but that the Sioux had pene¬ 
trated the ruse, in which case they would riddle him 
the moment he showed himself. 

Nothing was said of Lige, although there can be no 
question but that he was in the mind of every one; but 
Red Plume managed to slip out of the window without 
the negro knowing what was going on, and then slunk 
around, so as to be out of the range of his rifle. 

He stole along with the stealth of a panther, con¬ 
scious that the eyes of more than one red Indian were 
fixed upon him, and when he had reached a proper 


5 2 


THE RED PLUME 


point, he started with the speed of the wind toward the 
wood. 

Crack—whizz went the rifle of Fielding, pointed to¬ 
ward the swiftly-vanishing fugitive, who had little fear 
of being hit by that piece. 


CHAPTER IX 


AN INDIAN STRATAGEM 

Our duty as historian requires us now to bestow a 
little attention upon the more humble characters in this 
drama. 

It may be truly said that Pomp and Cato were in 
the lowest depths of “ black despair ” when they found 
that Lige had escaped, and they had been peremptorily 
refused the only opportunity they saw of following 
suit. They had held strong hopes of being sent to Mr. 
Prescott as the bearer of some message, and it is easy 
enough to understand what the result would have been 
had the Sioux sent either or both of them upon such a 
duty. 

They had their arms securely bound behind them, 
only their lower limbs being left free, while it was be¬ 
yond all human possibility that either could get away 
without help from others. 

At first sight it may seen strange that the Sioux 
should have preserved the lives of the two Africans, 
when it would have been such an easy matter to put 
them out of the way, and have done with them. This 
they undoubtedly would have done had not the leaders 
entertained hqpes of turning the colored youths to ac^ 
53 


54 


THE RED PLUME 


count in the designs which they meditated against the 
settlers. More than one of these dusky strategists saw 
a probability of the buxom Africans being made to play 
quite a prominent part—one which they would find to 
be fun for their captors, but death to themselves. 

So the poor fellows were cramped up together on 
the ground, while dark forms were silently passing 
back and forth and around them, and never once were 
they free from the scrutiny of more than one pair of 
basilisk eyes. 

They could only conjecture what the occasional 
firing of a gun and the whoop of the Indians meant; 
but when Jarrik, the chief, received the sousing from 
Dinah, and ran howling to the lake, where he was put 
out of his agony by the merciful bullet of Mr. Prescott, 
there was great excitement created among the Sioux. 

Had not their chief received his quietus at the instant 
he did, there would have been a rush and an assault for 
the purpose of rescue; and there can be little doubt of 
the result, at a time when there had been no commun¬ 
ication, and consequently no understanding between 
the besieged within and their friends without. 

“ Gor a’mity, dis yer’s beginnin’ to wear onto me, ” 
groaned Cato, just loud enough for his sable com¬ 
panion to hear. “ I feels bad. 

“ So does I, ” wailed Pomp. “ I don’t b’leve dem 
Injins likes us much. ” 

“ O golly! I bet de ole woman’s mad, ” added Cato, 
referring to his parent. “ She don’t offin git mad, but 


THE RED PLUME 


55 


when she does, she makes de fur fly. Do you remember 
Pomp, last week when I fell in de lake and tored all de 
seat out ob my best pants. Well, dar! didn’t she light 
on me ? I haint ’zactly got ober de whalin’ yet dat she 
gub me. ” 

“ Massa Fielding nebber git mad, ” said Pomp. 
“ When we begun fixin’ up our house, I built a fire out¬ 
side to warm my hands and afore I knowed it, I had 
de ole new building burnt down. I ’spect Massa Field¬ 
ing would tear round den, but he jist looked at it kind 
o’ quiet like, wid one ob his grins, and den said, wery 
soft like to me: ‘Pomp, thee must be more keerful in 
handlin’ fire! ’ ” 

“Do yer know what my ole woman would done, ef 
you had been me, and she had been Massa Fielding? ” 

“ Ob course not. ” 

“Why, she’d jist cotched me, by de nap ob de neck, 
and chucked me head ober heels into dat fire—dat’s 
what she would. ” 

“ Hebens! ” gasped the horrified Pomp, “ I thought 
she lubbed you more dan dat. ” 

“So she does, and dat’s jist de reason she’d do it. Ef 
she didn’t think nuffin’ ob me, she wouldn’t take no 
notice ob me. ” 

“Den I’d rather she wouldn’t lub me so much.” 

“Do yer know jist what I b’leve?” asked Cato, as 
if a sudden thought had struck him; his friend an¬ 
swered in the negative. 

“Ef dey’d jist let de ole woman loose, an’ I’d gib a 


56 


THE RED PLUME 


yell, she’d come tearin’ out yer in a minute, an’ 
wouldn’t dese yer darkies run? I’ve a good notion to 
set up a screech for mammy, jist to see de fun.” 

“ Better not, ” replied Pomp, who had not much 
faith in the proposed scheme. “ Dey’ll jist grab her 
afore she gits time to yawp. ” 

This seemed so probable that the son concluded not 
to call upon his parent just yet, but he was one of 
those “ spoiled children ” who was sure to beseech the 
help of his mother, at the very moment, perhaps, when 
all under heaven depended upon his own exertions. 

“ I tell you what, I ain’t goin’ to stand dis! ” ex¬ 
claimed Cato, after some minutes had passed in silence. 

“How yer gwine to help it? ” was the pertinent in¬ 
quiry of his companion in captivity. 

“ I’ll tear round arter awhile, an’ make ’em let 
me go.” 

There is no telling what these sable prisoners would 
have attempted had the chance been given them; but 
an unlooked-for occurrence took the expected oppor¬ 
tunity from their hands. 

When Red Plume made his flight from the be¬ 
leaguered house, his identity was not suspected, even 
after he had entered the wood, and by a circuitous 
route hastily rejoined his friends. 

It will be seen that this individual, on account of 
his race and tribe, enjoyed a vast advantage, which no 
skill upon the part of his friends could counterbalance. 

A few minutes after his return, one of the hostile 


THE RED PLUME 


57 


Sioux approached the spot where the two negroes were 
sitting upon the ground, and roughly commanded Cato 
to get up. 

“ What yer want of me?” inquired the African, 
with no little trembling. “ I’s jist as cumferable on 
the ground as a standin’ up.” 

“Git up! ” commanded the savage, kicking him vio¬ 
lently. 

“ Wal, why don’t you ax a feller, as yer oughter? ” 
was the sullen response, as the negro rose, sulkily, 
to his feet. 

The moment he took the standing position, the In¬ 
dian seized him, and drew him toward the clearing. 

“ Let go! you hurt! you’re a pinchin’ me. ” 

Here the object of the Indian speedily became mani¬ 
fest. He was about to make an attempt to approach the 
building, probably for the purpose of firing it; but, 
knowing how vigilantly it was watched, he hit upon the 
plan of using Cato as a shield. 

Placing the African squarely in front of him, he 
gave him to understand that if he struggled to free 
himself, he would bury his knife to the hilt in his body. 
At the same time he had liberty to shout to his ut¬ 
most. 

This was to make sure that the whites comprehended 
the manoeuvre, for it was not to be supposed that they 
would kill the negro for the purpose of penetrating the 
motive power behind him, and yet they might do that 
same thing before they comprehended the ruse. 


58 


THE RED PLUME 


“ Golly, won’t I yell! ” thought Cato, when he un¬ 
derstood what they were driving at. “I bet I’ll raise 
the ole woman, an’ den I don’t want ’em to shoot me. ” 

Shortly after the thick, burly form of Cato moved 
cautiously out from the wood, propelled by the Sioux, 
who took care to shield himself behind his spacious 
form. 

The negro walked slowly and heavily, afraid to 
struggle, but using his lungs with a power that was 
positively fearful. 

“ Mommy! dey got me! dey’re shovin’ me long! 
dar’s an Injun pinchin’ me! why don’t you come out an’ 
make ’em stop ? ” 

This performance was witnessed by those within, 
and, as may be supposed, caused the greatest excite¬ 
ment. Mr. Prescott had his rifle to his shoulder, at 
the first appearance of the dark form on the edge of 
the clearing and his finger was already pressing the 
trigger, when Dinah screeched: 

Don’t anybody shoot—dat’s my baby! ” 

“ Good heavens! you spoke just in time! ” exclaimed 
Mr. Prescott as he lowered his piece, and shuddered 
to think how near he came to killing his own servant. 

“Perchance thou mayest discover some portion of 
the heathen’s body and perchance thou wouldst like to 
shoot, ” called out Fielding, as he descended from his 
position and joined those in the second story. 

“ I rather think I would, ” replied Prescott, eagerly 
looking for the coveted chance. 


THE RED PLUME 


59 


“ I tell yer, don’t yer shoot! ” called out Dinah, in 
great excitement; “ dat yer’s my baby, and yer better 
not touch him. ” 

“ I think I can get a glimpse of the redskin’s head, 
but there is too little light, and the risk is too great, ” 
replied Prescott, lowering his piece again. 

“Can we not instruct thy servant what to do?” 
asked Fielding, plainly excited, although it did not 
show in his voice. 

“ If he only knew enough to turn his head, but he’s 
too frightened to do anything, except to yell for his 
mother.” 

It so happened that Dinah had been among the first 
to understand the ruse, as she recognized the appeal of 
distress at once, and, as was natural, became fairly 
wild. 

What child ever called to its mother in vain ? What 
danger will not the parent, whether it be brute or hu¬ 
man, undergo for its offspring? Who will stop to 
think of the consequences when the imploring arms of 
the helpless one are stretched toward us ? 

Remembering the doting affection of Dinah for her 
lubberly son, Fielding rushed to the lower story to 
prevent the apprehended catastrophe. 

He was not a moment too soon. The colored lady 
was in the very act of unfastening the same shutter that 
had served her purpose so well once before, when the 
Friend was at her side and caught her arm. 


6o 


THE RED PLUME 


“ Thee must not do it! ” he said, in a low, but unmis¬ 
takably earnest voice. 

“ I tell yah to let go ob me! ” screeched the negress, 
growing frantic at this interruption on the very thresh¬ 
old of her effort at rescue, and attempting to wrench 
herself free from the man. 

But the latter held her with a grip of iron. 

“ Dinah, wilt thou not suffer thyself to be per¬ 
suaded? Serious consequences will surely result from 
thy obstinacy—” 

But at this juncture Cato’s cries increased tenfold in 
volume and passionate intensity, and his mother be¬ 
came furious. 

It was no time for argument; and, throwing his 
arms around the barrel-like form of the cook, he 
carried her, struggling, across the room and into the 
other apartment, where he drew the door to, fast¬ 
ened it, and then hastened to the shutter. 

By this time Cato was within a hundred feet of the 
kitchen window, and his approach was viewed with an 
intensity of interest which it would be impossible to 
describe. Startled, and somewhat bewildered by the 
turmoil below, Mr. Prescott hastened to the assistance 
of Fielding, while his wife, with a rapidly throbbing 
heart, hurried to where Lige had been left alone and 
forgotten. 

Just as she came in, the negro was in the act of 
raising his gun to his shoulder. She screamed. 

“Don’t, Lige! Don’t! don’t!” 


THE RED PLUME 


6 1 


“.What’s de matter?” he asked, somewhat sullenly, 
as he lowered his piece and turned impudently toward 
her. 

“ That’s Cato out there. ” 

“ I know dat, I guess. ” 

“ Then what are you aiming your gun at? ” 

“ At de redskin behind him.” 

“ Don’t do it. You will hit Cato. ” 

“ Don’t you think I don’t know nuffin ? ” he de¬ 
manded, in the same insolent voice. “ Dar’s ’nough 
moon for me to see Cato and de Injun ahind him. ” 
And the negro again brought his rifle to his shoulder. 

“ Lige, you shall not! ” exclaimed Mrs. Prescott, 
almost beside herself at the fellow’s insolence, and seiz¬ 
ing the gun-barrel in her hand, and turning it aside. 

He muttered something, but did not dare openly re¬ 
sist her, although his nature was evil enough to have 
murdered her on the spot. They stood silent for a 
moment, when the attention of both was called to a 
scene of the most exciting character. 

Cato had reached a point about twenty feet from 
the kitchen, when the Sioux behind him gave utterance 
to a frightful shriek, and, with a spasmodic struggle, 
fell over on his back, stone dead, his bronze skull bored 
through by the ball of a rifle whose spiteful crack was 
simultaneous with his death-cry. 

So sudden was this that both Fielding and Prescott 
were certain that the fortunate shot had been fired by 
Lige, who instantly rose to the highest point in their 


62 


THE RED PLUME 


admiration and confidence, while the African was 
equally positive that the Sioux had received his quietus 
from those whom he hated so cordially, and who were 
in the room below. 

A moment later Cato got an idea of what had hap¬ 
pened, and realized that he was now standing between 
two fires; but whether to retreat or advance was the 
all-important question, which he probably never would 
have been able to decide, had not his mother burst into 
the room again, and shouted to him to come at once to 
her. 

There was no mistaking that command, and the 
obedient boy came plunging toward the window, the 
shutter of which was opened to receive him, while the 
bullets of the Sioux began whistling all about them. 

The moment he was within reach he was seized by 
the muscular arm of his mother, and, without help of 
his own, drawn headlong into the room, where she be¬ 
gan at once to cuff and box him most unmercifully. 

‘Til larn ye how to stand thar and never mind yer 
poor old mammy! You’re such a wicked heathen of a 
baby that you’ll never live to grow up! Take that, 
and that! ” 


CHAPTER X 


IN THE WOOD 

Safely removed from these scenes of peril were the 
two sisters, Edith and Lillian, with Mrs. Muggins and 
Augustus Pipkins, to whom, in their state of anxious 
suspense, the time passed with unutterable dreariness. 

All excepting the young gentleman from Chicago, 
who, placing his hat between his knees, had lain his 
head back against a large tree, and was “dreaming the 
happy hoyrs away.” 

The coming of Mrs. Muggins was a relief to the 
girls, who felt the need of one of their own sex, as well 
as pleasure at the proof that another of their friends 
was placed beyond the great danger that menaced the 
rest. 

“ Isn't this orful! ” exclaimed Captain Swarthau- 
sen’s housekeeper. Just as like as not when we wake 
up in the morning we will all be dead! ” 

“ Not so bad as that, aunty, I hope, ” said Edith. 
“ Our friends are safe, and Heaven will not forsake 
them in the hour of their extremity. ” 

“My gracious! what’s that?” exclaimed the old 
lady, startled by the stertorous breathing of Pipkins, 
whom as yet she had not observed. Just enough moon- 
63 


THE RED PLUME 


64 

light made its way through the interstices of the trees 
to reveal the form of the unconscious young gentle¬ 
man. “ I declare if there ain’t that city chap out here, 
when he ought to be with the rest of them, helping to 
fight the infarnel Injians. ” 

“ Tut, tut, aunty! He isn’t accustomed to this part 
of the world, and he could not be of any assistance to 
them. At least, neither Jud nor Red Plume care about 
having him with them. ” 

“ It don’t make no difference, ” continued the 
strong-minded female. “ All the greater shame for 
him. Do you s’pose I’d let my husband sit here, while 
the Injians was a-tryin’ for to kill me? ” 

“ There, never mind, ” added Edith, in her mild 
way. “ It is not worth while to discuss the point. 
•There can be no good come from it, and it does not 
please me to hear you talk thus. ” 

This was quite a palpable hint, and even the some¬ 
what naturally obtuse Mrs. Muggins “ took ” it. 

Pipkins, therefore, slept on without any further de¬ 
rogatory remarks upon his rather heavy breathing. 

At this juncture, however, the high pitch to which 
Mrs. Muggins’ voice had attained produced its effect 
upon the delicate tympanum of Pipkins, and he awoke, 
staring around in the gloom, and, for a moment, not 
understanding where he was. 

“ O-ah! ” he muttered, rubbing his eyes. “ It looks 
as if I were out on a picnic, and they had forgot me; 


THE RED PLUME 65 

or—no, it can’t be that I’m tight —and it kind of looks 
that way, too. ” 

To test the matter, he rose to his feet, and was much 
gratified to find that his head was level. 

“ That settles that point, ” he added to himself. 
“But it ain’t clear yet, and I’m afraid I shall have to 
get some one to introduce me to myself. Hello! ” 

It had all flashed upon him in an instant, and peering 
around in the gloom, he caught sight of his cousins. 

“ That was decidedly good! Ha! ha! ” he laughed. 
“T really forgot where I was for the time. But hello! 
I think I see another lady with you. ” 

“ It’s me, ” was the sharp, shrill exclamation of Mrs. 
Muggins, as she straightened herself up with the sud¬ 
denness of a Jack-in-the-Box. 

“What the deuce are you doing here?” inquired 
Pipkins, who never held any particular like for the 
virago. 

“ I’m come here to take care of you; that’s what I 
came for. ” 

“ Your husband sent you, I s’pose, ” added the ex¬ 
quisite, significantly. 

“ I go where I please, without his sending me, ” was 
the spiteful reply. “ Why ain’t you with the men, a- 
helping of them to shoot these orful Injians—” 

“ Mrs. Muggins—” 

“ Instead of being here—” 

“ Mrs. Muggins—” 

“ Well, what is it? ” she asked, stopping short. 


66 


THE RED PLUME 


“ How is your health ? ” 

“ Oh, you! ” she fairly ground beneath her teeth, un¬ 
able to do justice to her feelings; and then she began 
launching her invectives, when Edith interfered, and 
ordered her, peremptorily, to stop. She had lost all pa¬ 
tience at the tongue-lashings of the housekeeper, and 
told her that she must either cease, or go away where 
they would not be disturbed by her. 

There was a quiet dignity about Edith Prescott 
which was impressive. It was the triumph of a refined 
mind over a gross one. Mrs. Muggins held the young 
lady in no little fear, and she did not hesitate a moment 
to obey her. Instant silence fell upon all, broken by 
Lillian, who said to her cousin: 

“ Dolph, ain’t you afraid of catching cold ? ” 

“Well, yes; I ain’t used to sleeping in the woods, 
and I’m apprehensive I’ll have some trouble before get¬ 
ting broke in. If I only had a light for my meerschaum 
it wouldn’t be so dem’d rough.” 

“ Never mind about your pipe; we have got to re¬ 
main here all night, and you can get along without 
smoking as well as we can.” 

“ P’raps I could, if I hadn’t learned it when I was 
young—” 

“ Sh! ” interrupted Lillian; “ I hear something! ” 

Silence fell upon all, and, while listening, they dis¬ 
tinctly heard a rippling on the edge of the river, evi¬ 
dently caused by the motion of a paddle. 

“Good!” exclaimed Pipkins, in an undertone; 


THE RED PLUME 67 

“ that's old Jud or Red Plume, come back to keep us 
company." 

“ Perhaps it is not," said Edith, who could not un¬ 
derstand why either of their friends should return at 
this time, when she had reason to believe that they were 
on the other side of the lake. 

“ Yes, it is! " said the delighted Pipkins, starting in 
the direction of the sound. 

The young lady would have added a word of warn¬ 
ing, but he was immediately beyond the sound of her 
cautious undertone. 

The sound which had caught their attention was so 
slight that the young man was compelled to stop every 
moment or so to listen. Thus guided, he made his way 
to the edge of the water, where he caught sight 
of a canoe with a single occupant. A moment’s scru¬ 
tiny was necessary before he could make out that it was 
an Indian in the boat. 

“ Hallo, Red Plume! I’m deuced glad to see you, for 
it’s getting to be the greatest bore—" 

But it wasn’t Red Plume! 


CHAPTER XI 


A HEROINE 

'Augustus Pipkins dashed headlong back to where 
his terrified cousins awaited him. 

“It isn't Red Plume! it's another Indian! and he's 
going to kill us all! " 

It would be difficult to describe the confusion that 
followed. Mrs. Muggins began her unearthly scream¬ 
ing; Lillian, with a gasp of terror, started to flee, when 
her arm was caught and held by Edith. 

“ Wait, sister; you know I have a weapon.” 

Cowering like the wounded bird, she shrank against 
her sister as if there was safety in her presence. 

“ Thunderation! I’m going to climb a tree! ” mut¬ 
tered Pipkins, who threw his arms around a small sap¬ 
ling, and was up among the branches in a twinkling. 

It was the fact that the Indian was a hostile Sioux, 
who, however, was coming up the river, without any 
thought of there being any one concealed near the 
shore, and he would have passed in ignorance had he 
not been arrested by the sounds of words which reached 
his ears. 

He was a painted fiend, fully fitted to be the compan- 
68 


THE RED PLUME 


69 


ion of the merciless devils on the other side of the lake, 
and who instantly checked his boat at the prospect of 
getting the blood of some innocent victims. 

He started hastily after the fleeing Pipkins, and 
would have overhauled him very speedily had he not 
been checked by his own habits of precaution. Not 
knowing who composed the party of fugitives, he made 
a brief reconnoissance to be certain of the danger he 
had to encounter. 

When this reconnoissance was finished, Pipkins was 
perched in the tree, Mrs. Muggins had partly ceased 
her screeching, and Edith and Lillian were standing, si¬ 
lent and waiting. 

Had it been during the day, an observer would have 
noticed that the elder sister held her hand in her bosom, 
in a manner which showed that it was not the emotion 
of fear alone which actuated her. 

She gazed fixedly in the direction of the expected 
savage, and with her left arm thrown protectingly 
around Lillian, she awaited his approach with the calm¬ 
ness of a marble statue. 

The truth was that that delicate right hand was rest¬ 
ing upon the handle of a small, beautiful single-bar¬ 
relled pistol—a present from Fielding, who, perhaps, 
thought it was as appropriate for her to carry as for 
him to own. 

But a few minutes passed when the savage strode 
forward and looked about him. Whether he had seen 


7o 


THE RED PLUME 


Pipkins ascend the tree or not can only be imagined, 
but certain it is he looked up and raised his gun. 

“ Blazes! don’t shoot! ” called out the terrified man. 
“ I’ll come down and surrender.” 

With which he slid as nimbly down the tree as if it 
had been oiled expressly for that purpose. 

The savage evidently intended his demonstration as 
a summons to surrender, for he lowered his piece. But 
the evil dog meant mischief. As he turned his head, 
Edith saw the glitter of his eye, and she knew that 
there was murder in it. 

As the party stood, Mrs. Muggins was within an 
arm’s length of the redskin, while the sisters were 
somewhat to the left and double the distance away, 
while Pipkins was almost behind him, endeavoring to 
edge around so as to interpose a tree between him and 
his dreaded enemy. 

Mrs. Muggins had become silent, and for a moment 
not a word was uttered by a single member of this sin¬ 
gular group. But the housekeeper could contain her¬ 
self no longer. 

“ You’ll get it, you bad, good-for-nothing dog! I’ll 
let you know we have friends—” 

Poor woman! they were the last words she ever ut¬ 
tered. At that instant there was a lightning-like move¬ 
ment of the Indian’s arms as he threw his body slightly 
forward, and Edith caught the flash of the knife-blade 
as it was sheathed to the hilt in the bosom of the 


THE RED PLUME 


7i 


woman, who sank down and expired without another 
word. 

This wanton murder roused the whole devil in the 
Sioux’s nature, and with a slight whoop he swung the 
reeking knife overhead and made toward the two girls. 

In the indistinct gloom of the wood the redskin 
looked like a demon of the darkness as Edith saw him 
striding toward her. 

Lillian’s head was buried in the dress of her sister, 
and she saw nothing and knew nothing of the frightful 
scene that had just been enacted. 

Never a limb moved Edith Prescott, except to draw 
her hand from her bosom and raise her right arm. 

The muzzle of the pistol almost touched the forehead 
of the Indian, when the trigger was pulled, and the 
tiny bullet went clear and clean through his brain, and, 
with a spasmodic upthrowing of the arms, he fell over 
dead. 

It was done almost in the twinkling of an eye. The 
discharge of the pistol followed close upon the knife- 
thrust, and the murderer and his victim lay side by side. 

The sisters were safe, and so was their cousin, but 
poor Mrs. Muggins was dead at their very feet. 

It was several moments before Pipkins got the truth 
through his head. He knew that Edith owned a pistol, 
but he had no suspicion that she had it with her, and it 
was his supposition that the shot had been fired by the 
Indian himself. 

But as he saw the two sisters still standing, while the 


72 


THE RED PLUME 


dark form of the Sioux was stretched before them, he 
began to suspect that there had been a mistake made 
somewhere. 

“ I say—say—Edith, who fired that pistol? Was 
it you, now? Where’s that Indian? Is he dead? ” 

“ He is dead, and so is Mrs. Muggins! ” replied the 
girl, her feelings giving way now that the danger had' 
passed, while she covered her face. 

“ I see she has left this world of sorrow,” said the 
unfeeling Pipkins, “ that is, she has shuffled off the 
mortal bucket—no, I mean has kicked the coil—hang 
it, my Shakespeare has got a little mixed.” 

For the first time Lillian uncovered her face and 
looked about her. 

It is a singular thing this,human nature of ours! 
Who shall explain its contradictions and inconsisten¬ 
cies? 

The stern, dignified, magnificent Edith Prescott was 
now shuddering and sobbing in her sorrow; the petite, 
“ airy, fairy Lillian,” was without a tear or a tremor. 

It was almost as if they had changed their natures 
for the time. Leaving the side of her sister, Lillian 
walked to the prostrate form of Mrs. Muggins, stooped 
down, and placed her hand upon the face. 

It was still warm, and a thrill of hope went over her 
at the thought that, perhaps, she was living; she for¬ 
getting, in the terrible shock of woe, that the body had 
not yet been given time to lose its vital heat. 

Then she called her by name and raised her head, and 


THE RED PLUME 


73 


receiving no reply, she attempted to place her hand 
upon her heart. 

As she did so, she touched the awful wound from 
which the life-blood was silently flowing. 

She realized the truth, and with a faint exclamation 
of horror she sank back, fainting, upon the earth. 

“ Now, this is what I call confounded rough!” mut¬ 
tered Pipkins, who was hardly equal to the scene. “ If 
things keep on in this way, we’ll all go to the demnition 
bow-wows. Come, Lillian, don’t faint—try and make 
a man of yourself; and, Edith, hangnation! what’s the 
use? Look at me! I’m just as good as ever I was. I 
ain’t afraid of anything. Do try and act like sensible 
men.” 

The great grief of Edith was only temporary in its 
manifestation. By a powerful effort she subdued her 
feelings, and became herself again—calm, serene, and 
self-possessed. Kneeling down beside Lillian, she 
soothed her with a few gentle words, and the two arose 
to their feet, prepared for any duty that might appear 
to open before them. 

“ What shall we do ? ” asked Edith, directing her 
questions to Pipkins, who had moved as far away from 
the dead bodies as possible, without going out of sight 
of his cousins. 

“ Let’s go to Chicago; there ain’t any Indians there.” 

“ We must leave this place; I cannot stay in sight of 
that” she said, pointing with a shudder toward the 
dark form of the body of the savage. 


74 


THE RED PLUME 


“ It is a deuced unpleasant sight, and I would be sat¬ 
isfied never to look upon the noble red man again, as 
long as I live.” 

“ Yet we cannot leave her here.” 

“ How are we going to help it ? Do you expect I’m 
going to tote her round on my back? I rather guess I 
ain’t. What good will it do ? Ain’t the poor thing as 
well off here as anywhere else? and,” he added, in a 
voice which was heard by no one but himself, “ ain’t 
her husband better off than he ever was? ” 

“ It seems cruel to leave her alone in the woods,” said 
Edith, looking mournfully downward, “ but we can in¬ 
deed do nothing; we cannot bury her, nor can we take 
her with us.” 

“ My views exactly,” Pipkins hastened to say. 
“ Leave her here until matters are settled. The men 
can come here and put her under ground after all the 
folks have been killed—there—there—I didn’t mean 
that; don’t go to whimpering, Lillian, at every mistake 
a fellow makes. I meant to say, that after the Indians 
had all been driven away from the other side the lake, 
and everything has settled down serene like, why we 
can all gather here and give the late Mrs. Muggins a 
first-class burial—that’s what I was driving at.” 

“ But where shall we go? If we wander off too far, 
they will not be able to find us, and Red Plume told us 
not to leave this place.” 

“ He didn’t think you were going to shoot one of 
these interlopers, in aboriginal shape,” replied Pipkins, 


THE RED PLUME 


75 


who seemed to be totally wanting in his sense of the 
“ fitness of things/’ and who, as we have shown, could 
be light and frivolous at the most solemn times. 

“ If you have any special admiration for a Sioux in 
a state of suspended animation, Edith, we’ll camp 
around this specimen; but the only thing I admire 
about him is his blanket, which I will confiscate.” 

As the Indian had fallen, his robe was mostly under 
him. Pipkins, however, did not hesitate to draw it 
from beneath him, with such abrupt violence, that the 
body turned almost entirely over. 

“ There! ” exclaimed the exquisite, stepping to 
Lillian, and throwing it upon her shoulders, “ that will 
help protect you from the night dew.” 

Had a rattlesnake dropped upon her shoulders, the 
girl could not have started with a more convulsive hor¬ 
ror, than when she felt the loathsome garment descend 
and clasp her. 

Flinging it to the ground, she sprang away from it, 
as if it were a deadly peril. Her cousin coolly picked 
it up. 

“ Will you take it, Edith? ” 

“ No; I would perish first.” 

“ All right,” replied Pipkins, as he folded it about 
him, and strutted back and forth, “ I find it very com¬ 
fortable. You know that I dress rather—that is, rather 
well —and this will help protect my clothing. But we 
must proceed to business. The question is, whether we 


7 6 


THE RED PLUME 


are to stay here or somewhere else until morning. I 
believe we all favor moving away.” 

“ That is true,” replied Edith, “ but I meant that we 
should go a short distance; that is, so as to be beyond 
all sight of what is here, but not to desert our friend.” 

“ Yes; let us go,” added Lillian—“ but we have no 
boat.” 

“ The Indian has left his canoe on the bank.” 

“ We don’t want any,” said Edith; “ we will go only 
a short distance, and that by land.” 

The three moved cautiously forward, the man at the 
head treading with something of the air of a conqueror. 

In fact, Augustus Pipkins never experienced a 
greater sense of his importance, (which is saying a 
great deal,) than he did, when acting as guide to his 
cousins. 

“ Sh! not too fast! ” he whispered, turning about, 
and making a warning gesticulation. “ We ain’t out of 
danger yet.” 

“ Have you heard anything ? ” asked Edith, shrink¬ 
ing back. 

“ There was a slight rustling, that sounded to me 
like the tread of an Indian’s moccasin, but I ain’t sure.” 

Edith Prescott hastily stepped to him and whis¬ 
pered : 

“ Don’t go any further in that direction, until you 
ascertain.” 

“ Stay here till I reconnoitre, then.” 

The ladies stood motionless, while Pipkins began 


THE RED PLUME 


77 


stealing forward, with no more expectation of encoun¬ 
tering an enemy, than he had of meeting his employer 
in Chicago. 

The fugitives had started directly toward the river, 
and the young man was now but a short distance from 

it. 

But he had gone but a few feet further, when a shiver 
of terror ran over him, as he heard an unmistakable 
movement in the bushes directly before him. 

“ Jingo! and I ain’t got anything but my pipe,” 
thought he, as he paused, undecided whether to retreat 
or to stand a moment longer until satisfied of the nature 
of the danger. 

He listened with a throbbing heart, but all the sound 
that reached him was the dull report of a rifle, which 
came faintly across the lake, and told of the situation 
of their friends. 

“ I don’t hear anything, and, maybe, I was mistaken.' 
Good heavens! ” 

At that instant a dark body came suddenly and al¬ 
most noiselessly out of the water, and in a prone posi¬ 
tion rapidly approached him. Pipkins turned to flee, 
but in his haste, fell headlong to the ground, and ere 
he could rise, there was a rushing sound, and the 
creature, whatever it was, had vanished. 

“ Jingo! what was it? ” he asked, rising on his hands 
and knees, and staring about him. 

“ Some wild animal,” replied Lillian, laughing out¬ 
right, at the ridiculous figure her cousin cut, and for- 


78 THE RED PLUME 

getting for the moment the fearful peril which im¬ 
pended over all. 

“ I think it was a bear,” added Edith. 

“ Didn’t I frighten him, though ? I never saw an ani¬ 
mal run like that! ” 

“ Which was frightened the most, you or he ? ” 
asked Lillian, endeavoring to suppress her laughter. 

“ Me! What’s the matter with me? ” demanded the 
irate Pipkins, rising to his feet. “ That’s the way to 
scare a bear; haven’t you ever heard, that if you get 
down on all fours, any wild animal will run, because he 
don’t understand to what species you belong? Having 
no gun to shoot him with, that was my plan of action. 
I say, Edith, you had better reload that pistol of 
yours.” 

“ I have nothing with which to reload it,” she re¬ 
plied. 

While they continued speaking, Pipkins was search¬ 
ing up and down the bank for the Indian canoe. He 
had little difficulty in finding it, and called the attention 
of his cousins to it. 

At this instant, Edith caught the arm of her sister 
and drew her back. 

“ There is another enemy,” she whispered. 

‘‘No; he is a friend replied Lillian, who spake 
from the heart. 


Q 


CHAPTER XII 

COMPANIONS DU VOYAGE 

Here our pen must linger a few moments, while we 
turn aside to record an incident which, in its results, 
has an intimate connection with the closing events of 
this history. 

On this same eventful afternoon, a small canoe was 
making its way up Crescent River, toward Manyo-han, 
or Sleeping Water. In it were seated two men, a Cau¬ 
casian and American, the latter of whom was using his 
paddle with all the skill and power characteristic of his 
people. He was a diminutive, weazen-faced, dried-up 
Indian, known as the Otter, and for a dozen years past 
had served as a runner between the different frontier 
posts, having during that time done good service for 
General Harney, and other commanders in the West. 

At present he was stationed at Fort Grandon, a post 
something less than fifty miles distant from the scene 
of the incidents we have narrated, and he was now en¬ 
gaged in rowing Colonel George Havens up Crescent 
River to his uncle’s, Captain Swarthausen’s, where he 
was to make a call and then return to the fort and take 
charge of the forces there during the temporary ab¬ 
sence of the General, who was the commandant. 

79 


So 


THE RED PLUME 


But Colonel Havens had two days yet before he was 
to assume his new duties, that is, two days from the 
morning of the one upon which he left Fort Grandon. 
He calculated it would take the better part of a day to 
reach his uncle’s, and something less to return, so that, 
if no accident occurred, he would be able to spend sev¬ 
eral hours with Captain Swarthausen, and get back all 
in good time. 

We have spoken of his proposed visit to the Cap¬ 
tain’s. This was his nominal errand, and yet, it may 
as well be confessed at this point, that on the shore of 
the beautiful Sleeping Water was a far more powerful 
attraction, it being understood at the same time that 
the young officer was not lacking, in the slightest de¬ 
gree, in his affection toward the one who had been such 
an indulgent friend to him. 

But “ airy, fair Lilian ”—this Rose in the Solitude 
—this Flower of the Wood, this personification of rip¬ 
pling laughter, of sparkling eyes, of pearly teeth, of 
merry light-heartedness, of sunshiny hair, of the very 
grace of movement and poetry of motion, with her pe¬ 
tite form of matchless symmetry, whose “ light foot 
shone like jewel set in a dark crag,” and whose voice 
floated over Manyo-han, like the trilling notes of fairy 
music—this was the one who, months before had won 
the heart of the handsome young officer, who had lib¬ 
erally feed the Otter to get hence to the lake, without a 
moment’s unnecessary delay ? 

The Colonel reclined in the stern of the canoe, 


THE RED PLUME 


quietly smoking his Havana, while the iron 
skin kept the light structure skimming like . 
up the river. 

With every mile they advanced, it seemed as 11 
heart throbbed faster and faster, for was he not ap¬ 
proaching closer to the one who had scarcely been ab¬ 
sent from his sleeping or waking thoughts during the 
last six months ? 

Had he not heard that sweet laughter in the midst of 
battle, above the scream of shell, the thunder of can¬ 
non, and the shrieks of the wounded and dying? Had 
not that spirit-like form floated in the sulphurous 
clouds above him, even in the din of the fight ?—had it 
not beckoned to him in the cold moonlit sky, when on 
the silent march ?—and now when the “ fates of war ” 
had carried him so close to the reality herself, he was 
not the one to turn his back upon his own good fortune. 

And so he lay back in the boat, and indulged in those 
dreams so blissful to the young lover, in which hope 
built her fairy castles, and the future was robed in all 
the roseate hues that heart could sigh for. 

“ I am soon to see her,” he muttered to himself, smil¬ 
ing at the thought, while his heart gave an additional 
throb. “ She does not expect me, but she will be none 
the less pleased for all that.” 

And then the Colonel pictured their last interview— 
the moonlit sail across the lake. Fielding, the young 
Friend, handsome, gallant and modest, was kind 
enough to attend to the sail and rudder, although he 


THE RED PLUME 


Serial assistance from Edith, who sat be- 
, and seemed not at all displeased that the 
jss of the boat compelled them to keep so very 

_,n each other. 

But he and Lilian were in the bow, and the broad 
sail, intervening between them and those in the stern, 
made them as much alone as if they were in the soli¬ 
tude of the desert. 

And sitting there, he held the delicate white hand in 
his own, and, after a vast deal of manoeuvring, suc¬ 
ceeded in drawing the golden curls against his breast, 
where he resolutely held them, looking down upon the 
angel-like face, and wishing in his heart that the moon¬ 
light voyage might continue forever. 

Colonel Havens, as a matter of course, had heard of 
the outbreak of the Sioux in Minnesota, and the Otter 
had given some intimations of the settlers in the vicin¬ 
ity of Sleeping Water Lake being exposed to danger, 
but he had not reflected seriously upon it, and it did 
not now disturb his meditations of the happiness that 
was so near at hand. 

The afternoon gradually wore away, and still the 
arms of the Indian worked with the untiring steadiness 
of a steam-engine, and, lulled by the soft motion of the 
boat and his own soothing meditations, the young offi¬ 
cer gradually sank into a drowsy sleep, from which he 
was aroused by the sudden stopping of the boat. 

“ What is the matter ?” he asked, starting up and 
looking about him. 


THE RED PLUME 


83 


The Indian made no reply, but motioned to him to 
remain silent. They had reached a narrow portion of 
the river, deeply shaded with woods upon one side, 
while a level plain on the left stretched up the stream 
for a fourth of a mile, where the forest was resumed, 
making each bank of the stream dark with the luxuri¬ 
ant foliage. 

Havens knew that something was wrong, and he 
stared in every direction and listened acutely; but, as 
he neither saw nor heard anything unusual, he asked, 
rather impatiently, 

u What’s up, Otter?” 

“ See, there,” replied the redskin, pointing up 
stream, toward the beginning of the woods on the left. 

The Colonel followed directions, but could detect 
nothing unusual. While he was looking, the Otter, 
who spoke English like a native, fixed his beadlike eyes 
upon him, and a peculiar smile added several addi¬ 
tional wrinkles to his parchment-like face. 

“ You see nothing? ” he asked a few moments later. 

“ Nothing but the prairie and the woods beyond.” 

“ Look sharp now.” 

“ I have done all I could.” 

“ Look above the trees.” 

Ah! now he saw it. A thin, dark column of smoke 
rose perpendicularly upward like the faint outlines of 
some shaft of iron through the trees, and told of the 
unmistakable camp-fire beneath them. 


8 4 


THE RED PLUME 


“ What of it? ” he asked; “ they are a party of red¬ 
skins I suppose.’' 

“ Yes; they are Sioux.” 

“ Are you afraid of them ? ” 

“ Yes, they kill all the white people; they would kill 
the Otter, too, for he is the friend of the white people.” 

Colonel Havens sat bolt upright, and a chill of terror 
ran through him, as he recalled the accounts he had 
heard of the Sioux massacres; accounts, too, that he 
knew were based on truth. 

“ Good heavens! and what has become of hert ” he 
exclaimed. 

“ Of whom?” 

“ Captain Swarthausen, and our friends who live 
along the lake.” 

“ They are in a bad place.” 

“ Then why do we tarry here? Let us hurry to their 
relief.” 

The Otter dipped the paddle, and sent the canoe 
swiftly and silently up the stream, until he was close to 
the woods, and not far from the camp-fire. 

“ You stay here till I see who they are.” 

With this the redskin stepped lightly out of the boat 
and disappeared in the wood, while his impatient com¬ 
panion had nothing to do but to await his return. 

But scarcely ten minutes had passed, when there was 
heard the sharp crack of a rifle, followed by a frghtful 
shriek, which he was certain came from the Otter, who 
must have been detected and shot, almost at the mo¬ 
ment he came within sight of the camp-fire. 


THE RED PLUME 85 

What to do the Colonel was unable to decide for 
some moments—whether to retreat, advance or remain 
where he was. Satisfied that he must now face the 
danger alone, he stealthily worked his way up stream, 
until he had gotten fairly beyond the neighborhood of 
the camp-fire, when he plied his paddle more vigor¬ 
ously, and thus it was that he glided by the shore where 
the fugitives were concealed just at the moment the sis¬ 
ters descried him. 


CHAPTER XIII 


LOVE AND JEALOUSY 

The recognition was mutual and simultaneous. Shy¬ 
ing his canoe sharply against the bank, Colonel Havens 
sprang out, and warmly grasped the hands of the sis¬ 
ters, while it was only by a strong effort that he pre¬ 
vented himself from catching Lillian and pressing her 
to his heart. 

“ What does this mean? ” he asked, in amazement. 

Edith, in a few minutes, explained everything—how 
they came to be there, what had happened on the other 
side of the lake, and why they were waiting. 

Havens was astounded. 

“ I never dreamed of such a thing; and so Mrs. Mug¬ 
gins is dead, poor soul! I will go across the lake to the 
assistance of our friends,” said he, making a movement 
toward the boat. 

“No; you shall not,” exclaimed Lillian, stepping 
forward and laying hold upon his, arm. 

“ If you could be of any assistance, we would tell you 
to go,” added Edith; “ but Red Plume and Jud would 
be displeased to have you go there. If they could see 
you coming, they would send you back.” 

Still the Colonel hesitated, his impulses drawing him 
86 


THE RED PLUME 


87 


toward the scene of danger; but second thought con¬ 
vinced him that Edith had spoken the truth, and he 
gave over his intention of crossing the lake. 

Several times Augustus Pipkins had coughed and 
cleared his throat, but in the excitement of the occasion 
he was not noticed, until Lillian suddenly recollected 
herself, and introduced the two gentlemen. 

“ Extremely happy to make your acquaintance, sir,” 
said the exquisite, raising his hat, and bowing in his 
most elaborate style. 

The officer politely returned the salutation, but in 
that single second, when their hands touched, the 
sharpest pain of his life thrilled his soul—the poignant 
pang of jealousy, that goes through the heart like the 
thrust of the Italian’s stiletto. 

Why was this popinjay here? What if he was the 
cousin of Lillian ? Did that give him the right to play 
the gallant to her ? The marriage of cousins was not so 
unfrequent an occurrence as to make it at all improba¬ 
ble that these two were betrothed. Indeed, the proba¬ 
bility was that they bore such a relation to each other. 

It is singular how much a jealous man can think of 
in a very few minutes. Colonel Havens did not remem¬ 
ber that either of the sisters had ever mentioned the 
name of their cousin, in his presence, until now. 

Why this reticence? Why this studied silence re¬ 
garding him? Did it not point to the dreadful fact of 
their engagement? 

Such were the questions which seethed through the 


88 


THE RED PLUME 


brain of the lover, and his own answers to which almost 
maddened him into turning around and going down 
the river without exchanging another word with any of 
them. 

But enough sense remained to prevent this consum¬ 
mation of rudeness. 

“ You were approaching the river when I came up,” 
said he; “ why was that ? ” 

“ We cannot remain in this place, with its dreadful 
associations,” replied Edith. “ We were going to move 
only a short distance.” 

“ I see you have a boat; why not go with me to Fort 
Grandon, where you will be safe? ” 

“ That’s sensible,” exclaimed Pipkins; “ I second 
that motion. Let us once get into Fort Grandon, and 
then they can’t hurt us, even if they do kill all on the 
other side of the lake.” 

“ You may go, cousin; but Lillian and I will remain 
here.” 

“ And why will you stay here? ” asked Havens. 

“ It would be a living death for us, so long as we 
knew nothing of their fate,” she answered. “We prom¬ 
ised Red Plume and Jud to await them here, and there 
may be a great deal of danger between here and Fort 
Grandon.” 

The Colonel recalled his experience in coming up the 
river, and he coincided with the speaker. 

“ You will remain with us? ” she added, inquiringly. 

“ I must be at Fort Grandon to-morrow night, or 


THE RED PLUME 


89 


run the risk of being cashiered; but, if my presence will 
add any additional security to your situation, I will not 
hesitate a moment.” 

“ The deuce of the matter is that my furlough will 
be up before I can get back to Chicago,” said Pipkins, 
“ and I shouldn’t wonder if I got cashiered, too. That’s 
why I’m rather anxious to be under way.” 

“ You are welcome to go whenever you wish,” said 
Edith, with quiet dignity. “ We can very well spare 
you.” 

“ Of course, I can’t go unless you go with me, and 
I still hope you will change your mind.” 

“ I may as well tell you that there are Indians down 
the river.” 

“ Confound it! is that so ? Then I guess we’d better 
wait,” remarked Pipkins. “ I say, if we are going to 
make a change of base, it is time we were at it.” 

“ Suppose we go up the stream a little ways,” said 
Colonel Havens; “ you will then be nearer your friends, 
and more likely to see them when they come down 
stream.” 

This proposal was acted upon. Pipkins was some¬ 
what amazed when Lillian took her seat in the Colonel’s 
boat, but as it was too late to prevent it, he acquiesced, 
and assumed the lead with Edith in the stern of his ca¬ 
noe. 

They moved only a hundred yards or so when they 
came to rest, where the overhanging limbs and under¬ 
growth were, if possible, still more luxuriant. 


9 o 


THE RED PLUME 


When they had halted, a sort of couch was made for 
Edith in the bow of the boat, while Pipkins wrapped 
himself up in his great-coat, and speedily fell asleep in 
the stern. 

As Havens noticed this arrangement of matters, he 
spoke to Lillian: 

“ Have you any objection to remaining in the boat 
for awhile? ” 

She consented rather reluctantly, as it struck him, 
and he dropped a little ways down stream, so as to be 
beyond ear-shot of those who were in the other boat. 
Fastening the prow of his canoe to a limb, he was then 
at liberty to say what he chose to the vision of loveli¬ 
ness beside him. 

His first remark was very characteristic of a lover. 

“ This is the time I have longed for, for many a 
month, and the hours will now fly on golden wings.” 

“ I am sorry you cannot remain longer,” replied 
Lillian, who was thinking of father and mother on the 
other side of the lake. 

“ Had I dreamed of anything like this, I would have 
managed to have my leave of absence extended; but as 
it is, I must leave at daylight at the latest, else I shall 
not make Fort Grandon in time.” 

“ But you said there was danger on the way.” 

“ There seems to be danger everywhere, as much in 
one place as another. It even found you out in your 
hiding-place.” 

“ It was my cousin’s fault. I do not think we shall 


THE RED PLUME 


9 1 


be disturbed again, but you probably will in going 
back.” 

“ If I came safe, is there not reason to hope that I 
will be equally fortunate in returning ? ” 

He had not told her of the death of the Otter, else 
she would never have assented to his going back alone, 
even though he incurred the risk of being dismissed 
the service. 

She was oppressed with sadness, and as the sense of 
danger draws kindred hearts nearer together, they 
seemed attracted toward each other, and again Havens 
felt the delight of holding that sunshiny head upon his 
shoulder. 

It was indeed a pure happiness for which he was 
willing to brave ten-fold the danger he had encoun¬ 
tered, and which really imperilled his remembrance of 
the time when his furlough expired. 

For some moments they sat in silence, she enfolded 
in his strong arm, and the hearts of both overflowing. 
Then he felt a tear drop upon his hand, and he asked, in 
the softest of voices: 

“ What is it that troubles you, Lillian? ” 

“ Father and mother—shall I ever see them again?” 

“ Let us hope for the best. If you wish it I will go 
out upon the lake. Shall I ? ” 

She instantly nodded her head in the affirmative—a 
reply which somewhat surprised him, and he repeated 
it. 


92 


THE RED PLUME 


“ Let us go part way—near enough to learn what 
has become of them.” 

The next instant the fastening of the canoe was 
loosened, and it began moving slowly up the river. 

It was Haven’s wish to pass their friends without 
attracting their attention, but the vigilance of Edith 
prevented. Although her companion was sound asleep, 
she was not; and, as they came opposite, she inquired 
where they were going. 

“ We shall not be gone long,” replied Lillian, evad¬ 
ing a direct reply. “ Wait here for us.” 

Edith added a word or two, which were not intelligi¬ 
ble—so the lovers passed on, and soon were beyond 
sight and hearing. 

Colonel Havens handled his paddle very gently, and 
it was with some trepidation that he found himself en¬ 
tering the lake, on the banks of which such stirring 
scenes were enacting at that very moment. 

They had gone scarcely a hundred feet, when Lillian 
gasped, with a shudder of terror: 

“ Look Nook!” 

That which had arrested her attention was the sight 
of a burning house directly before them. 

Havens paused and looked fixedly at it, while he felt 
the canoe tremble from the agonizing sobs of Lillian. 

Scanning it carefully for a moment, he quickly 
turned his head. 

“ It is not your house, dearest; it is Fielding’s.” 


THE RED PLUME 


93 


Inexpressibly relieved, but still doubting, she looked 
up. 

“ Are you sure ? ” 

“ I suspected it from the first, but I did not mention 
it until I felt certain I would raise no false hope. Don’t 
you see that your house lies off here, and Fielding’s is 
more to the right ? ” he asked, pointing away in the 
darkness. 

A closer examination confirmed the truth of the 
colonel’s remarks, and, as may be supposed, lifted a 
heavy burden from the heart of both. 

“ But if they can burn one, they can burn the other,” 
she added, after the fire had begun to die away. 

“ Perhaps they can, but it looks to me as if Field¬ 
ing’s house was not defended at all. I listened, and 
heard no sound of firing; did you ? ” 

She was obliged to say that she had not. 

“ Then the only wonder is that it did not go before. 
When they come to make kindling-wood of the other, 
that will be a different thing; they will find several in 
their path who will have something to say about the 
matter.” 

“ But how can father and mother get away ? ” asked 
the daughter, who had racked her brain for hour after 
hour in attempting to answer the question herself. “ If 
they are besieged there, who but God can relieve 
them ? ” 

“ More unlikely things than that have been done. 
When I heard that Red Plume and old Jubal Judkins 


94 


THE RED PLUME 


were mixed up in this business, I felt more hope than I 
did before. That Red Plume, especially, is one of the 
sharpest redskins that ever lived. You ought to have 
heard some of the stories of his exploits that the Otter 
told me in coming up the river.” 

“ Did you have a companion? ” 

“ Part way,” replied the Colonel, somewhat embar¬ 
rassed ; “ but he left me a number of miles down the 
river.” 

There was the ever present sense of danger, so long 
as they remained so far out on the lake, and Havens al¬ 
most unconsciously worked his boat back toward the 
head of the river from which it had issued. 

“All in the gay and golden weather 
Two fair travelers, maid and man 
Sailed in a birchen boat together, 

And sailed the way that the river ran; 

And they were lovers, and well content, 

Sailing the way the river went.” 

Lilian was silent and thoughtful. Her fears were 
for those on the other shore, while he who h A d the pad¬ 
dle could think of scarcely anything but her. 

There is a witching power in the moonlight, and it 
throws its magic veil over the homely as well as the 
lovely, softening down each roughness, and making all 
beautiful. 

And there was just enough of the silvery, gossamer 
light to give a spiritual loveliness to Lillian Prescott 
such as had only visited her lover in his dreams of the 
angels. 



They had scarcely gone a hundred feet when Lillian gasped, 

“ Look ! look ! P. 92. 






























































































































































































V 























































U 












• • • • 














: 











































THE RED PLUME 


95 


He looked down upon the snowy forehead and face, 
with the beautifully pencilled eyebrows, and delicate 
nose, and perfectly cut features, the small, symmetrical 
form, and, like a true admirer, wondered why the 
whole world did not hasten to Sleeping Water to pay 
adoration at her feet. 

“ Ah! if I can but claim this fair one,” he reflected, 
“ then shall such happiness be mine as all will envy.” 

But the same old Shadow again hovered over him. 
Was Lillian as trustful and loving as she should be? 

Was not this quiescent languor born of indifference 
toward him, as well as of anxiety about her parents ? 

True, she could not but feel the keenest anguish for 
those who were in such frightful peril, but she ought to 
have had a single thought at least for him at her side, 
who was never tired of gazing in her face, of listening 
to her words, and obeying her slightest command. 

The most ardent love is the most selfish, and the tor¬ 
ment of jealousy is the keenest in that heart which is 
affectionate above all others. 

Colonel Havens fought the phantom like a hero, but 
it would not down. He endeavored to thrust it behind 
him, but the hated figure of the Chicago exquisite con¬ 
stantly hovered before his eyes. 

He was a cousin of the family (so ran his medita¬ 
tions), and, consequently, had visited them before, and 
frequently. He and Lillian had known each other for 
years, and, unless he was welcome and well-treated, he 


9 6 


THE RED PLUME 


would not be likely to remain so long a time in such an 
out-of-the-way place in Minnesota. 

The lover strove his best to keep away the frightful 
conclusion, but it came like the thunderbolt of the quiv¬ 
ering lightning. She and this insufferable Augustus 
Pipkins were betrothed lovers! 

Yes: the more he thought of it, the more convinced 
of its truth did he become. He reasoned that any man 
who could dress well, look feminine, and talk vapid 
nonsense was certainly the most popular with the other 
sex; and, consequently, he who could lay claim to 
neither of these attainments had no hope when brought 
in contrast with him. 

“Why did I leave Fort Grandon?” was the next 
question which he asked himself, in his bitterness of 
spirit; “ why did I come here to have my feelings lacer¬ 
ated in this manner ? Fool that I was to suffer my love 
to go out to any one of her kind! ” 

Everything that came to his mind only confirmed his 
bitter suspicions. The fact of Pipkins remaining so 
contentedly with Edith showed that he was so certain 
of Lillian that he was willing to trust her with any one. 

Would he not have done the same thing if he had 
been given the promise of Lillian’s hand? Certainly 
any man would not fail to show that confidence in the 
woman of his choice. 

He was certain, too, that when she stepped in his 
boat, it was done with a hesitating reluctance, which 
proved that her heart went in the other. Did he not 


THE RED PLUME 


97 


recollect the painful throb his own heart gave as the 
suspicion crossed his mind ? 

“ Straws show the way the wind blows,” especially 
in love, and Colonel Havens felt that, if there was any 
reason for a person in the world to feel utterly misera¬ 
ble, he had it. It was the contrast with his former hap¬ 
piness and exultation of feeling that made him so com¬ 
pletely wretched. 

A lover whose sensibilities are warped by jealousy is 
not apt to be considerate in his words, nor is it likely 
that they will be understood by the one to whom they 
are addressed. 

“ Lillian,” said he, as he again dipped the paddle 
into the water, and moved slightly away from her, 
“ you said this Mr. Pipkins is a cousin of yours? ” 

“ Yes.” 

Even that monosyllable “touched ” the lover; why 
couldn’t she use an additional word or two ? 

“ His home is in Chicago.” 

“ Yes.” 

“ What attraction can he find in this part of the 
world ? ” 

“ That is a singular question, and I might ask it, 
with more propriety, of you.” 

“ I might have known it,” thought the half-de¬ 
mented lover. “ Instead of placing me on an equality 
with him, she puts him first.” 

“ Of course,” he said aloud, “ he would naturally be 
attracted toward his cousins, and would be glad to 


9 8 


THE RED PLUME 


make them an occasional visit; but it seems to me he 
has a very lenient employer to allow him to spend so 
much of his time away from his business.” 

“ So he has,” replied Lillian, as she leaned over the 
canoe and plashed the cool water with her hand, 

“ And he must find a special attraction here,” he 
added, as if he would probe his own wound to the bot¬ 
tom. 

“ Perhaps he does,” was the same indifferent reply; 
so indifferent indeed that it almost maddened the 
colonel. 

The truth of it was that Lillian saw he was foolishly 
jealous, and she was willing to allow him to feel so. 
She was somewhat provoked that he should appear so 
forgetful of their surroundings, so regardless of the 
frightful peril that hung over all, as to show that he 
was thinking only of himself and his admiration of her. 

Besides she possessed the trait which seems to be the 
inevitable characteristic of the gentler sex—the disposi¬ 
tion to coquette with a man, to make light of his love, 
and carefully to conceal her own. 

She understood what the matter was, and she had no 
inclination to clear away the clouds, as she could have 
done in an instant by a word. 

“What is his full name?” 

“ Augustus Adolphus Pipkins.” 

The Colonel laughed somewhat scornfully. 

“ Phoebus! what a name.” 

“ Don’t you like it? ” 


THE RED PLUME 


99 


“ It is splendid—magnificent.” 

“ Do you really think so ? ” she asked, looking up in 
the most artless manner. 

“ I never heard its equal.” 

“ I am glad to hear you say so; some persons think it 
is not a good name, but I cannot see why.” 

“ I suppose he is good company.” 

“ Indeed he is; we have had many a pleasant sail on 
the lake, and I do not see how we could get along with¬ 
out Cousin Dolph.” 

“ That’s what I thought,” added Havens to himself, 
but loud enough to be heard by his companion. 

“ You seem to be interested in our cousin,” contin¬ 
ued Lillian, looking up again in the face of her lover. 

“ I was not aware of any special interest.” 

“ Then why so many questions about him ? ” 

“ Simply because I had nothing better of which to 
speak.” 

“ Oh! that’s it! He has been here several weeks, but 
is now anxious to get back to his home again.” 

“ Yes, I saw that he was; such persons generally are 
eager to leave when any danger appears.” 

“ If I am not mistaken Colonel Havens expects to be 
at Fort Grandon to-morrow evening.” 

How that cut! the young man flushed, and barely 
checked the hot reply that came to his lips. 

“ I have professed a willingness to stay, but I am 
bound by the honor of a soldier to return.” 

“ ’Dolph promised to be in Chicago at an earlier date 
of C« 


100 


THE RED PLUME 


than he now can possibly reach there. Should any one 
wonder, then, at his anxiety to fulfill his promise? ” 

“ I see you are his champion,” said Havens, impa¬ 
tiently. “ I wonder whether you would defend me so 
violently.” 

“ I do not know of any one who would attack you so 
fiercely, in your absence.” 

Thus it was; every reply of that golden-haired little 
beauty was like a Spanish dagger, sharp and keen, 
piercing to the very heart. 

“ I have said nothing of your magnificent cousin 
which I would not say gladly to his face.” 

“ Then why not wait until you have the opportu¬ 
nity?” 

“ I do not care enough about him to meddle in his 
affairs.” 

Lillian laughed softly. 

“ How strange! when he seems to have occupied 
your thoughts to the exclusion of everything else, ever 
since we have been on the lake.” 

“ Indeed,” exclaimed the lover, in a voice which was 
meant to be of a polar frigidity. 

“ How strange! If we are to judge of one’s thoughts 
by his words, you surely will not deny that my hand¬ 
some cousin has occupied a large share of your 
thoughts during the last half hour.” 

“ I am sure not so much of mine as of yours.” 

“ Perhaps you are right,” she replied, in her in¬ 
different manner, as she leaned over the boat, and dal¬ 
lied with her hand in the water. 


THE RED PLUME 


IOI 


“ I am sure of it,” added Havens, compressing his 
lips to keep back his feelings. 

“ I will not dispute you.” 

For the time the girl had forgotten the shadow upon 
her heart. Now that her mind had been withdrawn 
from the appalling gloom which enfolded her so long, 
it was curious that it kept itself away so long. 

“ This man loves me,” she reflected, as she leaned si¬ 
lently over the side of the boat. “ He is brave, and no¬ 
ble, and manly, but he is jealous, and he has no reason 
to be so, for he is the superior of my cousin in every re¬ 
spect. He is handsomer, too, yet he is jealous all the 
same. It will not hurt him if I give him an additional 
pang or two.” 

And so the wilful beauty said nothing, nor did she 
look at her companion, who toyed with the paddle and 
kept the boat gliding slowly and quietly down the river. 

As for Colonel Havens, he had succeeded in making 
himself the most miserable of men; he even believed 
that he could look upon the girl before him with in¬ 
difference. If she preferred such a man as her cousin, 
he was very certain that he should not object, nor 
would he care. The world was large, and there was a 
path of glory already opening before him. 

There is a love of independence which is natural to 
the human heart. If crushed, it seeks to rise—if re¬ 
buffed, it resents it; and so this lover was longing to be 
at Fort Grandon, to place himself at the head of his 


102 


THE RED PLUME 


men, and lead them to victory that should crown them 
all with glory. 

Lillian noticed that the canoe was now moving quite 
rapidly, and she looked up in the face of her compan¬ 
ion; but he avoided her gaze, and applied his paddle 
with more vigor than ever. 

“ You seem to be in a hurry/’ she said, as they began 
gliding down the river. 

“ So I am.” 

Her heart misgave her. Perhaps she had trifled too 
long with him; she had misjudged his sensitive nature. 

More than once she was half persuaded to apologize 
for her cutting words, and confess that he stood first 
and foremost in her affection; but pride, so frequently 
the barrier to duty, stood in the way, and her lips were 
dumb. 

And all this time the light canoe was carried by oar 
and current down stream, until they reached the place 
where the other boat was lying. 

Pipkins, as a matter of course, was asleep, but there 
was some natural surprise felt upon the part of the 
Colonel, when, as he glided close to the boat, he saw 
that Edith was unconscious. 

Propelling his canoe close to the other, he brought it 
to rest, and silently waited for Lillian to leave. 

Proud as ever, she stepped softly over, and stood in 
the centre of the other boat. 

“ Good-by,” said the colonel, in a low tone, as he 
dipped his paddle in the current, and glided away. 


THE RED PLUME 


103 


“ Good-by/’ she replied, inclining her head, but 
maintaining her standing position in the boat. 

At every stroke of the paddle the heart of Colonel 
Havens sank deeper and deeper, until it seemed as 
though his strength were about to desert him entirely. 

But he resolutely refused to halt or turn back, unless 
she relented. 

Hark! was not his name spoken. 

He paused and listened. All was still—could he be 
certain that she really had called to him, he would have 
turned about and bidden her good-by once again—such 
a good-by as his heart prompted him to give. 

But he could not be certain, and he would have died 
rather than commit such a blunder. So he held his pad¬ 
dle suspended and listened; but, if his name had been 
called, it was not repeated, and saddened almost to de¬ 
spair he resumed his oar, and turned his face resolutely 
toward Fort Grandon. 

Lillian Prescott had stood and watched the vanish¬ 
ing canoe with emotions scarcely different from those 
of him who sat in it. Her heart reproved her for what 
she had done, and crushing down her pride, she called 
in a voice which sounded to her like that of another per¬ 
son. 

“ George! ” 

He did not look back, and she did not notice the ces¬ 
sation of his paddle. 

“ He is too proud,” she reflected; “ he heard me; but 
he spurns me, and it may be I deserve it—” 


104 


THE RED PLUME 


The tears came in her eyes, and when they cleared, 
the canoe was gone. 

When fairly beyond sight of her who had made him 
the happiest and most wretched of men, Colonel Hav¬ 
ens bent to his paddle with renewed energy, and sent 
the light vessel skimming like a water fowl down the 
river. 

He could only conjecture as to the time, but he was 
certain it was far beyond midnight, and he had no right 
to loiter on the way. 

There was danger ahead, but he cared nothing. In 
his present mood, he would as lief plunge among a 
horde of yelling Sioux as to continue his monotonous 
journey without encountering any peril. 

But hard work is a good thing to cool the brain, and 
as he placed mile after mile behind him, he began to 
think more sensibly of what had occurred during his 
visit to Sleeping Water Lake. 

“ I was hasty,” he said aloud, as he allowed the boat 
to float awhile with the current, “ but her words cut me 
to the quick. She has wounded my feelings, and I hope 
hers have been touched; but how different from when I 
ascended the stream! ” 

The thought of the joyous expectancy with which he 
had driven the canoe up current, and the gloomy de¬ 
spondency with which he returned, brought more than 
one heavy sigh from him. 

He could not withdraw his thoughts until he dis¬ 
covered that he was in the vicinity of the place where 


THE RED PLUME 


I0 5 

his comrade, the Otter, had been shot. Here considera¬ 
tions of personal safety changed his meditations for the 
time. 

By this time it was broad daylight, and there was the 
greater need of caution. 

He kept close to the shore, moving with the greatest 
stealth and silence, and frequently listening for sounds 
of danger. 

He was proceeding in this manner, when a rustling 
in the bushes overhead startled him, and he looked up 
just in time to see a dark body drop lightly in the boat 
directly in front of him. 

Catching up his gun he was about to fire, when he 
lowered his piece with the exclamation: 

“ Heaven save me! it is the Otter! ” 

“ Sh! there is danger !” 

And the weazen-faced redskin picked up the paddle, 
and began working the boat himself. 

With his care and skill, he soon got it'Safely past this 
perilous neighborhood, and then with his wrinkly 
smile, he explained matters. 

“ Hadn’t left you but a minute,” he began, in his 
rapid way, “ when I scented a camp-fire, and climbed a 
tree. Hadn’t been there only a few seconds, when half- 
a-dozen of the Sioux came right under the tree—looked 
up and saw me—fired—didn’t hit me—but I dodged 
and yelled, and made them believe they did—fell to the 
ground—didn’t know me—took me for a white man at 
first, and then begun to ask my name—one of them 


io6 


THE RED PLUME 


knowed me—were going to kill me—but I palavered 
with them—made some of them believe I was going to 
help join them in this massacre—they gave me a show 
—I got a chance—slipped away—knew you would be 
back by morning—climbed this tree—dropped into the 
boat—so, that’s all.” 

The same day, the two reached Fort Grandon, where 
we must leave them for the present, and give our atten¬ 
tion to more stirring incidents. 

When certain that her lover was gone, and that he 
would not return to them, Lillian Prescott sat down in 
the canoe beside her sister, discovering for the first 
time that she was wide awake. 

“ Let me wrap my shawl about you,” said Edith; “ it 
will protect you from the night air.” 

Clasped in each other’s embrace, the two reclined in 
the stern of the boat, which, with its unusual weight, 
sank almost to the gunwales. 

Edith was quiet, and Lillian supposed she was 
asleep; but she was mistaken. Although the elder sister 
had said nothing, yet her woman’s instinct told her all. 
She knew that Lillian, nestling close at her side, was 
weeping with a combined grief, such as her heart had 
never known before, and she gently, but more lovingly, 
drew the dear one to her heart. 

But no sleep was to visit their eyes that night. 

Edith was beginning to relapse into drowsiness, 
when she felt her arm grasped with startling force, and 


THE RED PLUME 


107 

rising suddenly bolt upright, she pointed toward the 
lake, and fairly gasped: 

“Look!” 

A bright star-like point of light could be seen gleam¬ 
ing like a point of fire across the lake. The intervening 
undergrowth partly obscured it, but it speedily in¬ 
creased in size, until a broad glare of fire was reflected 
against the sky. 

“ The Indians have fired the house,” added Lillian, 
in the same terrified whisper. 

“ Perhaps, it is the house of Fielding? ” 

“ No; that burned when we were out on the lake. 
Captain Swarthausen’s has gone too, and they have at¬ 
tacked ours. Hark! what is that ? ” 

“ It is the sound of guns.” 

“ And they are shooting them.” 

“ It may be our friends who are firing,” responded 
Edith, who, at the same time was far from feeling the 
hope with which she endeavored to inspire her sister. 

Indeed she was sure that the long dreaded crisis had 
come at last! 


CHAPTER XIV 


THE STRUGGLE IN THE LAKE 

Red Plume had been not the least interested specta¬ 
tor of the stratagem of the Sioux, who had used Cato 
as a shield in approaching the house. 

From his position he calmly watched the movement 
until it became manifest that there was no one in the 
building that dare fire, when he picked off the redskin 
himself. 

In the bedlam that was then raging all round, not a 
member of the Sioux party detected, or even suspected, 
that the fatal shot came from outside the building. They 
looked upon the exploit as another evidence of the 
“ eternal vigilance ” of those within, and took the 
greater care to keep themselves beyond their range. 

Old Jud, Captain Swarthausen and Muggins were 
under the dense shrubbery along the lake, to the west 
of the Prescott cottage. From this point they were 
watching, with lynx eyes, the proceedings, and waiting 
for the moment to mingle in the fray. 

At present it was the part of prudence for both the 
men to remain invisible, as a glimpse at either would 
be enough for the Indians to detect them, and the old 
hunter saw no prospect of his doing any good. 

108 


THE RED PLUME 


109 


As the shouts and whoops of the Sioux reached his 
ears, his eye sparkled, and a grim smile illuminated his 
face. 

“ I’ve fought them varmints before, and have raised 
the h’ar of more than one of 'em in my time; and the 
way things look just now, I shouldn’t wonder if there 
was a little more of that business done atwixt now and 
morning.” 

“ This ain’t the kind of fighting I am used to,” re¬ 
plied Captain Swarthausen, “ although I did some of it 
in my younger days, when I was stationed on the fron¬ 
tier. I have no objection to standing up before a civil¬ 
ized foe and blazing away at each other; but may the 
devil take such a style of war as this.” 

“ I don’t see the sense of fighting anyway,” observed 
Muggins, who seemed to think it his duty to enlighten 
the others. “ If everybody in the world was like me and 
Fielding there wouldn’t be any such thing as war or 
massacres.” 

“ Just there’s the trouble, Snoopy. The world, as a 
general thing, happens to be different; and we have to 
take it as we find it.” 

“ I s’pose so,” was the philosophic assent of the cor¬ 
pulent gentleman, who had not a very clear meaning of 
what was said. 

The conversation ran along in this desultory manner 
for some fifteen minutes longer, but it was noticeable 
that Jud took no part in it. The reason for his silence 
was that something had attracted his attention, a short 


110 


THE RED PLUME 


distance away, and its character gave him no little un¬ 
easiness. 

It was while looking toward the house that his keen 
eye detected a flash of water, such as is made by the 
leaping of a fish. It was on the other side of the clear¬ 
ing, which extended from the lake down to the house, 
and at a corresponding distance with his own. 

He narrowly watched the place while the pointless 
conversation at his side was going on, and, as he antici¬ 
pated, soon saw the dark form of a canoe put out from 
the shore and start directly across the lake. 

“ That’s the game, is it ? ” he muttered, and then 
spoke to his companions. 

“ I’ve got to leave you a while. Thar’s a redskin 
going across the lake, and I must foller and see what he 
is after.” 

He cautioned his friends to remain where they were 
until Red Plume gave them different orders, and then 
stealthily crept to where the canoe of his Indian friend 
was lying. 

By this time he could only catch the faintest outlines 
of the swiftly vanishing boat of his enemy, but he cared 
nothing for this, as he knew well enough the direction 
it was pursuing. 

Instead of following in a direct line after it he turned 
to the right and coasted along the lake until certain he 
was beyond all likelihood of being detected, when he 
dipped his paddle deep and sent his frail boat skimming 
like a bird over the water. 


THE RED PLUME 


111 


Propelled with the skill and power he possessed, it 
was not long before he struck the opposite side, at the 
beginning of Crescent River. Here he backed his boat 
under the shore, and waited the coming of the other. 

Old Jud was morally certain that he was consider¬ 
ably in advance of his enemy, but he was somewhat dis¬ 
quieted by the fact that he could hear nothing of him. 
On such a still night, when they were removed from 
the turmoil and tumult upon the other shore, the slight¬ 
est sound could be heard a great distance. 

He leaned his head over and held it close to the 
water, and still hearing nothing, he lowered his ear un¬ 
til it was beneath the surface, but still nought reached 
him upon which he could hang the least probability of 
the coming of his foe. 

This satisfied him that at that moment there was no 
canoe beside his own anywhere in the vicinity. Whether 
the redskin whom he had seen put out from the other 
bank had detected his danger and turned back, or 
whether he had already landed at some other point, was 
more than he could determine. 

His great fear was that the savage had eluded him 
by touching shore and pursuing his journey on foot. 
This was a possibility, but it was not a probability; and 
the more he reflected upon it the more satisfied did he 
become that the Indian was aiming for the mouth of 
the river, with the intention of taking advantage of its 
swift current and its general course. 

Still, as moment after moment passed away, he al- 


11 2 


THE RED PLUME 


most unconsciously toyed with his paddle in the water, 
propelling his boat slowly forward, as though he were 
impatient to meet his expected foe. 

In this manner, and almost without knowing it, he 
had advanced out upon the lake until he caught the out¬ 
lines of the island, which, as will be remembered, stood 
very near the centre. 

Not a little surprised to discover what he had done, 
he abruptly halted. At this juncture a slight but famil¬ 
iar sound struck his ear, and with a powerful sweep he 
shot his boat backward, with the intention of driving 
it out of sight. 

But he was too late. At that moment the dark figure 
of a canoe shot to view from behind the island, and 
only the suddenly reversed movement of the hunter 
prevented a collision between the two boats. 

The Indian who occupied the smaller canoe was a 
cowardly dog, who was probably more noted for his 
fleetness as a runner than anything else. Almost any 
of his race would have advanced instantly to the attack, 
when confronted by a single foe, and engaged him in 
mortal hand-to-hand combat. 

But such a thought did not seem to enter the head of 
the Sioux for a single instant, and he abruptly started 
to retreat, heading toward the shore which he had left 
but a few minutes before, while Jud followed hard 
after. 

It would have been an easy thing for the hunter to 
have ended the matter with his rifle, but he wished to 


THE RED PLUME 


IX 3 

keep what now seemed likely to take place from the 
main body of Indians, and just then the stillness which 
had settled upon lake and wood made the firing of a 
gun fatal to his purpose. 

Scarce a score of feet were necessary for the fleeing 
Indian to discover that he was overmatched in the 
race, and his white foe was overhauling' him very 
speedily. Seeing that there was no hope in this course, 
the savage suddenly plunged overboard, going like a 
loon far under the water. 

“You won’t get away from me in that style,” mut¬ 
tered Jud, who was terribly in earnest, and resolved on 
using up this redskin. 

With paddle poised in hand, he awaited the rising of 
the bronzed head, which came to the surface a short 
distance away, when he shot toward it. 

There was a curious sense of honor about Jud Jud¬ 
kins which prevented him ending this contest, as he 
might easily have done, within the next dozen seconds; 
but it seemed so unfair to him to remain in the boat 
while his antagonist was in the water, that he made a 
leap toward him, and thus placed themselves upon an 
equal footing—if such a term can be used where 
neither of them had any footing at all. 

But the dusky dog had no wish to encounter, even 
under these parallel circumstances, the terrible Jud, of 
whom he had probably heard before, and the minute 
the hunter was within striking distance, he sank out of 
sight. 


THE RED PLUME 


114 

Jud, with his knife between his teeth, dived after 
him, missed him, came up first, and calmly awaited his 
reappearance; but second after second passed away, 
and he saw nothing of him. He glanced in every di¬ 
rection, so as to make sure of not losing him in the 
semi-darkness, but nothing was to be seen of him. 

“ He’s gone under for good,” he thought; “ so 
blamed skeart that he daren’t come up again.” 

To make sure he swam slowly around in a small cir¬ 
cle, but with no better result than before. 

There lay the two canoes from which the occupants 
had leaped, silent and motionless. The faint moonlight 
reflected from the water, gave the hunter quite an ex¬ 
tended field of vision. 

The keenness with which he scanned the whole area 
of the circle that bounded his vision, made it impossible 
for a fish to come to the surface without being discov¬ 
ered. Jud was satisfied that the Sioux, although a 
skillful swimmer, could not have gone, at the utmost, 
more than fifty feet under the water, while the radius 
of his vision was more than double that. 

What other possible solution of his continued disap¬ 
pearance than that he had been drowned ? 

The island was a hundred yards off, so that the 
Sioux could have taken no advantage of its proximity, 
and it was physically impossible for any living creature 
to remain under the water, without breathing, for the 
several minutes that had already elapsed since the sub¬ 
mergence of the redskin. 


THE RED PLUME 


IT 5 

The action of this fellow in leaving the main body of 
the Indians, and heading across the lake toward the 
river, satisfied Jud that he was a messenger who had 
been despatched to some point to procure help in the re¬ 
duction of the house and the destruction of the inmates. 
If, therefore, he could be cut off, without the knowl¬ 
edge of those who sent him, it will be seen that a vast 
deal of good might be done, and it was not at all un¬ 
likely that, could it be accomplished without the dis¬ 
covery upon the part of the others, the lives of the en¬ 
tire party of whites might be saved by it. 

This will explain the caution and determination with 
which the hunter undertook the business. 

“ Never mind—he is gone, and it amounts to the 
same thing,” he muttered, as he swam leisurely toward 
his boat. “ They’ll have to send another messenger, 
afore they’ll get any more of the skunks out here.” 

He rested some minutes, listening for sounds from 
the scenes of the recent conflicts; but the silence still 
continued. During the single dive that he made, Edith 
Prescott had fired her pistol, and “ killed her man,” so 
that the report had not reached him, and he had no sus¬ 
picion of what had happened there during the last half 
hour. 

Perhaps five minutes had passed, when Jud dipped 
his paddle in the water and started toward shore. At 
this instant he observed that the other canoe was gone! 

“ By the living jingo! ” he exclaimed, with one of 
his quiet laughs, “ that was a powerful smart trick! ” 


n6 


THE RED PLUME 


So it was. The Indian, when he made his last dive, 
had gone under his own canoe, and came up on the 
other side of it. While Jud was looking wonderingly 
around for him, he was working his own boat toward 
shore, so slowly that it was unperceived even by the 
sharp-eyed hunter; and when the latter, with his face 
turned partly from him, sat listening, he improved his 
opportunity to the utmost, and succeeded in a very brief 
time in putting himself beyond all danger. 


CHAPTER XV 


THE TORCH 

While Jud Judkins was engaged with the Sioux 
upon the lake (and so cleverly outwitted, as we have 
shown), a scarcely less interesting encounter had taken 
place upon the land, with the prospect of producing far 
more serious results. 

After the hasty admission of the negro Cato into the 
councils of the besieged, there was comparative quiet 
for some time. The Sioux had received indisputable 
demonstration of the fierceness of resistance they had 
to encounter, and they held off until they could devise 
some less dangerous means of bringing the whites to 
submission. 

It was about this time that the messenger was sent 
across the lake, for the purpose of procuring reinforce¬ 
ments, and was compelled to turn back by the hunter 
Jud. The truth of the matter was that the Indians had 
been so weakened by their losses that they saw their 
purposes could scarcely be accomplished except by ad¬ 
ditional help, or by springing some unexpected and un- 
prepared-for scheme upon them. 

They had already suffered so severely at their hands 
that they were incited by the basest of passions—re- 


i8 


THE RED PLUME 


venge; and there was no mercy to be expected if any of 
the whites should fall into their power. 

The great ally upon which the Indians counted was 
fire, and it was this that our friends feared more than 
anything else. Could the torch be applied to the build¬ 
ing, and the flames get fairly started, it would burn 
like touch-wood, and the death struggle would be pre¬ 
cipitated upon them. 

The barn was in dangerous proximity, and there was 
no possibility of preventing this from being fired, and 
both Prescott and Fielding wondered that this natural 
recourse had been left so long. 

But the Sioux had sufficient reasons for their for¬ 
bearance. In the first place, the night was so calm that 
it was only a possibility of the flames reaching the 
house, while the broad glare would be likely to expose 
some of them to the unerring rifles of those within. 

There were several shadowy forms flitting in and 
out the barn constantly, only waiting until the spring¬ 
ing up of a breeze, or until orders were given to apply 
the torch. The horses had already been removed, and 
there was almost a quarrel over the division of 
the plunder. 

Among the shadowy figures that were sometimes 
within the barn, was Red Plume, who, in this manner, 
kept himself informed of the movements of his ene¬ 
mies. 

The incipient wrangle which began, on account of 
the rival claimants of different parties to the horses 


THE RED PLUME 


119 

broke out again, and became serious, three separate 
warriors mingling in it and drawing their knives. 

It would have been a good thing for the whites could 
this have continued until it came to blows, as every in¬ 
jury inflicted by the Sioux upon each other was pre¬ 
cisely so much gain to our friends. 

Unfortunately, however, the man who succeeded 
Jarrik, as leader, was equal to the occasion. Seeing 
that his followers were becoming too much incensed to 
listen to reason, he seized one of the horses by the head, 
cut its throat, and then sent a bullet through the brain 
of the other, settling the dispute, as did the captors of 
Miss MacCrea, a hundred years before. 

There being nothing left for the redskins to dispute 
over, they naturally stopped disputing, and all became 
serene again. They accepted the situation, and were 
only the more eager to avenge themselves upon the 
innocent. 

As the time passed, the vigilance of those within, 
if possible, increased. Mrs. Prescott and Cato took 
their position near Lige, who muttered that he did not 
need their presence, and seemed specially vengeful to¬ 
ward his sable companion. 

Mrs. Prescott, however, would not allow the servant 
to depart, and so the three remained together. The 
husband was equally faithful in guarding another side 
of the house, while Dinah was omnipresent, and kept 
her kettle “ boiling hot, ” ready and anxious to give 


120 


THE RED PLUME 


another bath to those who had so maltreated her 
“ infant. ” 

Fielding was a sort of general-in-chief. He had re¬ 
turned to his station in the third story, from which 
point he was unremitting in his vigilance. His prin¬ 
cipal aim was to detect and frustrate the strategic 
schemes of the redskins, and at the same time be on 
the lookout for any signals that his friends might make. 

Great as was the peril that had hung over the party 
for the last few hours, the Friend had fired his gun but 
once, and that, as will be remembered, was aimed at no 
one, and only intended to assist Red Plume in his 
flight from the building. Up to this point, he felt that 
he had been a consistent Quaker, but there was no tell¬ 
ing how long that pleasant feeling would continue. 

The dim moonlight was just sufficient for the whites 
to detect any insidious approach of their foes. The 
house being surrounded by a clearing on every side, 
any savage was thus exposed to their bullets, and hence 
the necessity of the extremest caution in any attempt 
they might choose to make. 

The danger incurred by the Sioux has been made 
clear to the reader. It was not only necessary to reach 
the building, but to remain there until preparations 
could be completed, and a fire kindled. 

Once beside the house, the inmates could not fire 
down upon their assailants, but they had a potent ally 
in Dinah, who harbored her boiling water with an ap¬ 
preciative sense of its value, while the windows and 


THE RED PLUME 


121 


doors made it easy for them to open suddenly, do what 
shooting they chose, and close and secure them again 
before any harm would be likely to befall them. 

All this was understood by no one better than the as¬ 
sailants themselves, whose tardiness in making any real 
courageous attack, is thus explained. 

The vigilant Fielding was alone in the upper story, 
intently scanning the lake and clearing, watching and 
listening, when a slight noise on the roof, directly over¬ 
head caught his ear, and drew his attention in that di¬ 
rection. 

There was a small trap-door here, secured from 
within, and barely sufficient to admit the passage of a 
moderately-sized man. The slight rustling, when it 
struck his ear, was immediately beside this, and he sus¬ 
pected at once that there was an Indian on the roof 
seeking to enter the building from that direction. 

But how came he there? was the question which 
the Friend involuntarily asked himself. 

That he had come up from the kitchen roof was his 
first supposition—but, when he came to reflect upon it, 
that seemed impossible in the face of those below. 
Then he reflected that he might have taken advantage 
of some adjoining tree; but this was still more im¬ 
probable, as there was no tree near enough to make it 
possible, even for such a gymnast as Hanlon. 

However, it was certain that some one was there, 
and it was no time for speculation or theorizing. If he 
was there, it was for no good. 


122 


THE RED PLUME 


The great apprehension of Fielding was, that he 
would set fire to the dry material of the roof, before he 
could be prevented. 

Then came the hope that perhaps it was Jud or Red 
Plume; but “ sober second thought ” dissipated this 
last hope. 

The treacherous savage could be heard slowly crawl¬ 
ing along the roof as if he had not yet reached the 
point he was seeking, although, as we have stated, he 
was in the immediate proximity of the trap-door. 

The latter was secured by an ordinary wooden but¬ 
ton, but as the outer side offered no projection for seiz¬ 
ing it, this was all-sufficient. 

There was no light in Fielding’s room, and taking 
one of the chairs, he placed it directly beneath the trap¬ 
door, and stood upon it, so that his head was brought 
directly beneath it, and he could hear distinctly any 
movement upon the outside. 

Standing thus, he listened, but the slight disturbance 
had ceased. Satisfied, however, that only a few inches 
separated him from one of the “ heathen, ” he became 
the more alarmed at the profound stillness. 

Softly he turned the button, and then gently pressed 
upward, but the door did not move. He pushed with 
more force, but with no better result. Then he knew 
the reason why. 

The Indian was upon it! 

Fielding stepped down again, and picked up his gun. 
He was certain that the Sioux was crouching upon the 


THE RED PLUME 


123 


door, and he was none the less certain that the three- 
quarter inch pine board of which it was composed, 
could be perforated by the ball, as though it were card 
paper, and the Indian slain by the same missile with as 
much ease and certainty as if he stood clearly revealed 
before him. 

He raised the hammer of his gun, but immediately 
lowered it again, and set the weapon back. 

“It may be Red Plume; but, even if a heathen, I 
will not needlessly shed his blood. ” 

Once more he pressed against the door, and it 
yielded. The Indian had moved off it. Raising it 
scarcely an inch, he peered through the narrow open¬ 
ing, and his heart gave a leap as he saw a small star- 
like point of light, on the lower edge of the roof. 

The Sioux had already set fire to the building! 

As he gazed, the Friend caught the outlines of the 
Indian in a stooping position, and intently busy with 
his incendiary work. He had gathered together a little 
bunch of dry twigs, which he had probably brought 
with him, and by means of a common lucifer match, 
had ignited them. 

The blaze as yet was but a mere point, and he was 
carefully nursing it by encircling it with the palms of 
his hands and gently blowing it. 

It would have been the easiest matter in the world 
for Fielding to have thrust the muzzle of his gun out 
of the trap-door, and doubled up the redskin like a 
jack-knife. But he hesitated. So long as there was a 


124 


THE RED PLUME 


possibility of accomplishing his purpose in any other 
way, he was not willing to shed blood, and he thought 
he saw his way clear. 

When the Quaker assumed the upright position upon 
the chair, his head and shoulders protruded through 
the uplifted door, and he quickly but silently laid it 
over upon the roof. At the same instant he leaped out 
as nimbly as a monkey, landing, in a stooping position, 
within twenty inches of the redskin. 

The latter heard the rush and thud as he struck the 
roof, and leaving the blaze to itself, turned his head 
with the quickness of lightning. 

Before the contracted pupil of his eye could accom¬ 
modate itself to the gloom toward which it was turned, 
a clenched fist struck him in the face, very much after 
the manner of a sledge-hammer. 

He threw out his arms and endeavored to clutch his 
assailant, but he was taken at too much disadvantage, 
and went off the roof backward. 

“ Go thy way in peace! ” remarked Fielding, as he 
saw his heels disappear over the eaves. 

And the Sioux obeyed him. 

Subsequent discoveries led to the supposition that 
this Indian struck upon his head, and, as he fell quite a 
distance, he never rose again. 

It was the work of a few seconds for Fielding to 
dash out the tiny blaze, which was just then beginning 
to eat into the roof. He then made a hasty survey, to 
be sure that the fire had been started nowhere else. 


THE RED PLUME 


125 


Finding nothing, he leisurely descended through the 
trap-door, and fastened it after him. 

“ Verily, the heathen are seeking to encompass our 
ruin,” was his truthful reflection as he quietly took his 
station and looked cautiously forth for signs either of 
his friends or enemies. 

Fielding had acquitted himself brilliantly, beyond 
question; but when he had cooled down somewhat, and 
had time to reflect upon the extraordinary occurrence 
in which he had participated, he was made more uneasy 
and apprehensive by it than from anything that had 
happened since the beginning of the siege. 

It was unaccountable to him how this Indian reached 
the highest portion of the roof without detection. He 
could not believe that it had been done through col¬ 
lusion with Lige, who, as he believed, had made such 
a splendid and timely shot an hour or so before, and 
besides, even if he was treacherous enough to do such 
a thing, he had companions with him who would detect 
the scheme the instant it was attempted. 

The cause for alarm was the probability that the 
Indians had found some way of reaching the most vul¬ 
nerable portion of the building, of which the inmates 
knew nothing, and which, if they should discover, they 
were unable to stop. 

While the Quaker was thus reflecting, he observed a 
gradual lighting up of the lake in front of him. He 
found that his range of vision was becoming more and 
more extended, and but a few minutes passed when he 


126 


THE RED PLUME 


caught the faint outlines of the island far out in the 
lake. 

At the same instant the glow was reflected against 
the sky with a peculiar redness which left no doubt in 
his mind as to what it meant. 

A moment later, Cato came tearing up the stairs, 
fairly wild. 

“ O de gracious hebbin! Massa Fielding! what do 
you s’pose de darkies hab done ? Dey’re set fire to your 
house, and it’s all burnin’ up! Golly, ain’t my old wo¬ 
man mad! ” 

“ I thank thee, Cato, for the information, but I dis¬ 
covered it a few minutes ago. Do thou go below and 
assist thy kind mother in watching against the stealthy 
approach of the heathen. ” 

The negro stood for a moment staring in blank 
amazement at the dark form of the Quaker, just visible 
against the field of partial light behind him. Then he 
turned about and retraced his steps, muttering: 

“ I don’t b’lieve he’d get mad if somebody should set 
fire and burn him up. ” 

Cato carried the intelligence of his reception to his 
mother, who was indignant that the matter was taken 
so coolly by the one principally concerned. 

“ It’s jis’ like some folks!” she replied. “When 
you was out dar, singin’ out to me in your sweet voice 
to come and help you, he jus’ put his arms ’round me, 
give me a big hug, and wouldn’t let me go out to you. 
Wal, I’m sartin if he doesn’t care, / doesn’t! ” 


THE RED PLUME 


127 


And with this philosophic conclusion she bustled 
around the room, and examined the water to see 
whether it was boiling. 

“ Dar ain’t any dat water to spare, and, Cato, you 
mustn’t get dry—” 

“ O mommy! ” burst out the infant, “ I know’d dar 
was sumfin’ I forgot! I’m jist as dry as a fish. ” 

The probabilities were that the boy would not have 
become sensible of his condition for a long time but for 
this reminder upon the part of his parent. 

“ Shet up!” said she, spitefully; “ jis’ like you. 
Which would you ruther hev, one ob dem darkies crawl 
in de winder and kill us all, or go a little dry? ” 

But the spoiled child could not be reasoned out of 
his crying mood, and he knew he had but to persevere 
a few minutes longer to succeed. So it came about 
that a large portion of the hydrogen on hand went 
down the capacious throat of Cato, and the stock of 
water, as a consequence, was rendered much less, and 
all the more precious. 

“ Now, you go up stairs and help Lige watch, ” said 
she. M You ain’t no good hyar, and de next thing will 
be you’ll ax for sumfin’ to eat. ” 

Thus reminded, the son all at once became raven¬ 
ously hungry, and there was no quieting him until he 
had surrounded a fearful quantity of food. 

Then, reflecting that there was nothing more that 
he was capable of doing for the benefit of his corporeal 
existence, he made his way to the second story, where 


128 


THE RED PLUME 


the othe'r negro was alone at his station, Mrs. Prescott 
having rejoined her husband a few minutes previous. 

Cato was in the best of humor, and slapping the 
other African on the shoulder, asked him, in the heart¬ 
iest manner. 

“ How yer gettin’ dong, Lige? ” 

The latter started, as if he had been detected in a 
guilty act, and turned savagely toward him. 

“ What yer hit me dat way fur ? Don’t you know 
nuffin’?” 

“ ’Course I does, I tinks I knows a good deal, and 
my mommy says I’m the smartest 'colored gentleman 
in Minnesota. ” 

“ Your mommy is a big fool! ” 

“ Better be keerful, Lige; dat’s dangerous to talk 
dat way. ” 

Lige looked at him in the most contemptuous 
disgust. 

“ Who’s afeared ob you ? ” 

“I didn’t mean me; I meant mommy. If she should 
hear you speak so unspectfully ob her she’d ’light onto 
you. ” 

“ Oh, dat’s it! What you come up here fur ? ” 

“ To help you watch. ” 

And reminded of his duty by his own answer to the 
question, Cato leaned forward and took a stare out the 
window, and then stepped back again. 

“ Wall, you can jist go back, fur I don’t want yer.” 

** Dat don’t make no difference: mommy told me to 


THE RED PLUME 


129 


come, and if I don’t she’ll make me. She don’t keer 
fur you. ” 

“ You jist go back, and tell her I sent you. ” 

“ Git out! I ain’t goin’ to do no such a ting. You 
talk as though you was boss round dese parts. ” 

If there was any one in the building who suspected 
the fealty of this evil fellow, Cato was certainly not 
among them He had been associated with him for a 
considerable time and only knew him as a sullen, sulky 
negro, who often muttered threats against his em¬ 
ployer, and, in fact, with all whom he came in contact. 

But these, even when they came to the knowledge of 
Mr. Prescott, were looked upon as the harmless ex¬ 
pressions of the chronic discontent of Lige, and were 
forgotten as soon as they were uttered. 

Cato feared his mother more than he did Lige, al¬ 
though he had several bouts with the latter, who was 
was his master in every respect, and, if he chose, could 
have picked him up and cast him out the window. 

But the infant had no fear of any such calamity be- ^ 
falling him. His mother was within “ striking ” 
distance, and he had a voice which, it has been shown, 
was all potent to bring her through any danger to his 
assistance. 

So Cato backed up against the wall, and gradually 
slid down until he reached the floor, where he took an 
easy position, so as to do his duty as sentinel, with as 
little personal discomfort as possible. 


3 ° 


THE RED PLUME 


“ When you see anything, Lige, jist let me know and 
I’ll git up and take a look. ” 

“ Yas; you go to sleep, ” replied Lige, hoping to get 
rid of his companion through the aid of somnolence. 

“ You needn’t think I’m goin’ to sleep,” was the in¬ 
dignant retort of Cato, at this slur upon his vigilance. 
“ I kin keep awake as long as de next feller; longer too, 
if I want to.” 

“ Who said you couldn’t, you big fool ? But nobody 
wants you here, and if you’s agwine to stay, you kin 
jist as well shet yer eyes as open them.” 

“ I tell you I ain’t sleepy—not a bit.” 

Even while he spoke, the words of Cato became 
thick and heavy, and Lige knew well enough that he 
would be unconscious within the next ten minutes. 

So he kept him mumbling and talking aimlessly, un¬ 
til, finally, he was overcome—his head drooped, and 
he knew no more of terrestrial things. 

In the meantime, the conflagration of Fielding’s 
house went on without interruption. Once started, 
there were no means at hand to check it, and not one 
of the four men who were crouching outside enter¬ 
tained any thought of interfering with this work of the 
Sioux. When the latter had made sure that it was 
doomed, they set up a series of howls and whoops, 
which continued a few minutes, when they all de¬ 
parted. 

Less than half an hour had passed, when old Jud 


THE RED PLUME 


I 3 1 

touched the arm of Captain Swarthausen, and pointed 
across the lake. 

“ That looks as though they hadn’t forgot you, Cap- 
tin.” 

“ Thunderation! ” muttered the latter, as the deep 
gloom at the point indicated was lit up by a rapidly in¬ 
creasing light, which soon revealed the house of the 
soldier enveloped in fire. 

“ Ain’t it lucky we left there when we did? ” whis¬ 
pered Muggins, cuddling down as though fearful the 
blaze would reveal his hiding-place. 

“ I don’t know whether it is or not,” replied the 
Captain; “ if we had staid there we might have pre¬ 
vented this.” 

“ No, you wouldn’t,” remarked Jud; “ they’d burned 
that up, and all of you in it, if you hadn’t got up and 
got, jist at the time. Do you know what that is all 
done for? ” 

“ I suppose because they wish to injure us all they 
can—I can see no other reason.” 

“ You haven’t got the idea, so I’ll give it to you. 
They’ve burned down the Quaker’s house, and there 
goes yours. The next will be the barn, and then every¬ 
thing will be ready to open on this house here.” 

“ I don’t understand what you mean.” 

“ You see they want to fix things, so if they do git 
the folks out, they’ll have a fair chance at ’em. They 
might manage to git into Fielding’s house, and if druv 


i 3 2 


THE RED PLUME 


out of there, might be able to reach yours; so as to save 
all that, they’ve burned ’em both down, and if they 
have to leave here, there won’t be any other that can 
be turned to account. Do you see ? ” 

“Yes; but they haven’t burned the barn as yet.” 

“ That’ll go next, and then it’ll begin to git hot 
around here.” 

“Yes,” said Muggins, taking the hunter literally; 
“ we’ll have to crawl out into a cooler place, where the 
fire can’t reach us.” 

“ That won’t be so easy,” laughed Jud; “ that’ll be 
about time for us to take a hand in the business.” 

“ Well, it may as well end one way or other. I only 
wish my nephew, George, could appear about this time, 
with a squad of Minnesota cavalry, that have been in 
this kind of work before. The greatest enjoyment for 
me, in this business of war, is to see a big body of the 
enemy, especially when they are such a set of devils as 
these, at the very moment when they are sure of suc¬ 
cess, pounced down upon by a lot of fellows, wild and 
furious as a tornado. I have helped in such matters 
many a time, and I tell you it is the keenest kind of fun, 
and makes an old soldier like me proud of my profes¬ 
sion.” 

“ I don’t see much chance of that happening.” 

“ No; George is not far away, but he is too far to be 
reached in time to help us.” 

“I am afraid so,” added Captain Swarthausen; 


THE RED PLUME 


*33 


“ and if these reinforcements do not come to the In¬ 
dians, I see no reason why we shouldn’t hold our own 
against them.” 

“ Nor I, either,” was the emphatic response of old 
Jud. 


CHAPTER XVI 


THE FLAMES 

It seemed as if the Sioux were exhaustless in their 
schemes for reducing the besieged cottage without re¬ 
sorting to an open attack. 

The house of Captain Swarthausen burned fiercely 
for a time, but it had hardly begun to die away, when 
Prescott, from his lookout, became aware of still an¬ 
other stratagem of their enemies. 

On the edge of the clearing, at the point where both 
the negroes had first presented themselves, he detected 
a movement, which, for a time, he was unable to com¬ 
prehend, but which he knew was another demonstra¬ 
tion of the Indians. 

What caught his eye, was a dark, irregular body^ 
which it was impossible to identify so long as it re¬ 
mained in the gloom and shadow of the wood; but 
when shortly after it moved out into the clearing, he 
saw that it was a number of boards or planks, rudely 
fastened together, and intended, no doubt, to serve as a 
bullet-proof screen in their advance against the build¬ 
ing. 

Against this device it was impossible for the besieged 
to protect themselves. It was an easy matter for the 
134 


THE RED PLUME 


*35 

redskins to keep their persons hid, and so long as they 
did so, no bullet could reach them. 

Here, then, was work for Red Plume and Jud. They 
alone could frustrate the plan, and, failing to do so, the 
most unfortunate results were sure to follow. 

The Sioux penetrated the design, even before it was 
acted upon, and noiselessly making his way to where 
the three men were concealed, told them, in his broken 
English, that the time had come for them to go to the 
assistance of their friends. 

“ Pd like to go very much,” said Muggins, “ if I can 
be of any help, but it seems to me—that is—that I had 
better wait here until everything is ready. Don’t you 
think so, Jud? ” 

“ Oh! we don’t want you; you needn’t be so skeert.” 

“ I ain’t frightened in the least. I am only speaking 
for the good of the whole company, you see.” 

Captain Swarthausen supposed, as a matter of 
course, that he was to accompany the two, but when he 
crawled out and rose to his feet, the hunter gently 
shoved him back again. 

“ We can do better without you, Captain; you’ll 
have to wait a little while for your turn.” 

He stared a moment, as if he did not understand the 
meaning of this repulse; but, convinced that there was 
some work to do whose nature was too delicately dan¬ 
gerous for him, he merely bowed and sat down again. 

The two scouts instantly separated, so as to approach 
the novel machine of war from different directions. It 


136 


THE RED PLUME 


required but a very short time for them to reach the de¬ 
sirable stand-points. 

As they did so, they saw that the planking or shield 
was carefully carried by three Indians, who were mov¬ 
ing in a crouching posture, and were securely concealed 
from the most vigilant watcher within the house. 

There would have been no difficulty in shooting an 
Indian apiece from where our friends stood, and Jud 
even thought that he could wipe out two with his own 
weapon, by manoeuvring so as to get them in the right 
range. 

But both were anxious, if possible, to manage the 
business in such a way that the watching and observant 
Sioux would be deceived as to the directions from 
which the shots came. So long as this deception could 
be carried out, it inured greatly to the advantage of the 
defenders, as it intensified the appreciation the aborigi¬ 
nes already felt of their wide-awake characteristics. 

There was but one way by which this could be done, 
and even that was more likely to fail than succeed. 

If the Sioux should manage to place themselves 
against the side of the house, they would be apt to ex¬ 
pose themselves, before they could get fairly to work; 
and to kindle their fire, they would be compelled to 
leave their shell altogether. 

But whether, in the collection of their material with 
which to kindle a fire, they would wander far enough 
away to place themselves within range of the guns, re¬ 
mained to be seen. 


THE RED PLUME 


137 


The probabilities were, that they would not, and yet, 
if they did, then would be the opportunity of the 
scouts. 

As one half of the ventriloquist’s art consists in mak¬ 
ing his audience believe they are going to hear his 
words from the point toward which he has directed 
their attention, so there was some likelihood that even 
the keen-eared Sioux would not detect the exact loca¬ 
tion of the sharpshooters, who had taken upon them¬ 
selves the task of turning back, for a short time at least, 
the great danger from conflagration. 

This “ consummation so devoutly to be wished,” 
however, was frustrated. An entirely unlooked-for 
and inexplainable action upon the part of the Sioux, 
rendered unnecessary any demonstration from the two 
men, who were so eagerly awaiting the opportunity to 
put two more of their enemies out of the way. 

The three redskins who were steadily advancing 
with their shield before them, had almost reached the 
house, when they came to a halt, and remained sta¬ 
tionary for several minutes. 

While they were standing thus, Jud heard a faint 
whistle from the wood behind them. Immediately 
after, the plank structure began moving, but in a back¬ 
ward direction. 

This retrogression continued until the wood was 
reached, when the shield was thrown down, and they 
scattered among the trees, and all was still again. 

Neither Jud nor Red Plume, with all their wood- 


138 


THE RED PLUME 


lore, could comprehend the meaning of this singular 
action. 

“ P’raps they didn’t start right, and are going to 
try it over again,” he muttered, waiting for the re¬ 
appearance of the curious structure. 

But minute after minute passed, and nothing more 
was seen of it. Convinced, at last, that this stratagem 
was abandoned, Jud stealthily made his way back to his 
two friends, where he was speedily followed by Red 
Plume. 

Here the two hunters exchanged notes, and found 
that neither could enlighten the other. Nothing re¬ 
mained to them but conjecture. 

“ I’ll be hanged if I understand it,” said Jud, scratch¬ 
ing his head, and addressing himself particularly to 
Captain Swarthausen. “Just at the minute when it 
looked as though the blamed thing was going to do the 
business for them, they jist backs out, and gives it all 
up.” 

“ You said they were signalled to? ” 

“ Exactly.” 

“ The signal was perhaps intended as a warning that 
danger threatened them, and they acted the part of dis¬ 
cretion.” 

“ It wasn’t that,” was the decided reply of the hun¬ 
ter. “ Ef the redskins had larned that we was waiting 
for the chance, how long do you s’pose they would have 
waited before they’d sent a dozen bullets through us? ” 

“ I see.” 


THE RED PLUME 


139 


You 11 have to hit on something else, before you 
can tell us the reason they backed out.” 

“If you can’t explain it, there is no use of my trying, 
so I give up the conundrum. But I do think—” 

“ Sh! ” interrupted Red Plume, who was stretched 
flat upon the earth, and who had detected something 
suspicious. 

The party, as we have intimated in another place, 
were concealed under a dense growth of shrubbery, 
their hiding-place being reached by their crawling un¬ 
der it, and maintaining a prone position, so as not to 
disturb the vegetation around them. 

When they conversed, it was in such cautious under¬ 
tones that they could barely hear each other, and there 
was no danger of their voices reaching the ears of oth¬ 
ers for whom they were not intended. 

But, for all that, Red Plume had detected the 
stealthy tread of a moccasin, and had given instant 
warning. 

At this instant none of the others had heard it, but 
Jud’s suspicions of the cause of the alarm were in¬ 
stantly confirmed by detecting the same faint sound. 

Some Indian was coming that way, certainly, though 
they could hardly believe he was searching for them, as 
they had used such caution and circumspection in their 
movements, that both were certain they had not been 
observed. 

There were savages all around them, but as they 


140 


THE RED PLUME 


moved freely and without suspicion of being observed, 
they were the more easily avoided. 

Soon the interloper came so near that all heard him. 
He seemed to be walking slowly by, as though he were 
searching for something. When directly opposite, he 
halted, so close, that even in the gloom Red Plume 
could distinguish the outlines of his figure. 

Here he stood a short time, as if in the attitude of 
listening, and then, instead of moving away, walked 
still nearer, and parted the bushes. 

As he leaned over, he was visible to every one of the 
four men, who almost held their breath. Both Jud 
and Red Plume clutched their knives ready for the in¬ 
stant use, which seemed inevitable. 

But the four were literally immersed in darkness, 
and sharp as was the trained vision of the savage, he 
could not detect the slightest sign of them. He stood 
only a few seconds, when, apparently satisfied that 
there was nothing there that needed looking after, he 
moved on. 

Not until he was fairly beyond all danger of hear¬ 
ing, did one of the men break silence. 

“ Cracky! he was looking for us,” exclaimed Mug¬ 
gins, with a great sigh of relief. 

“ If he had been, he would have found us,” replied 
Jud; “ but he's gone, and we will think no more about 
him. Red Plume! ” 

Thus appealed to, the Indian listened to something 
that was uttered in his own tongue. A few questions 


THE RED PLUME 


141 


and answers passed, when the old hunter turned to 
Captain Swarthausen, by way of explanation. 

“ There’s sumfin that looks worse than all! ” 

“ What’s that? ” 

“ In the last half hour there has a breeze come up.” 

“ What of it?” 

“ And it’s a northerly wind.” 

“ And what of that?” 

'‘That’s from the barn right square toward the 
house.” 

“ Ah! I see what you mean. That is bad, isn’t it ? 
You seem to feel certain that they will fire the barn.” 

“ When I see that, I am,” replied the hunter, point¬ 
ing in the direction of the building referred to. 

No one saw the point indicated, but they knew what 
he meant, and every eye was turned to the north, and 
immediately the appalling truth burst upon them. 

The barn had been fired, and the wind was blowing 
directly toward the house. No earthly power could 
now save it! 


CHAPTER XVII 


THE FLIGHT 

It was far into the night when the barn burst out 
into flames, and a strong, steady wind blew it power¬ 
fully toward the light frame structure of the house. 

For some time those within the building held strong 
hopes of escaping a “ burning out/’ but only a few 
minutes were necessary to prove that nothing less than 
a miracle could prevent the flames being communicated 
to the roof over their heads. 

Then Fielding looked hurriedly about him for quilts 
and blankets. There was an abundance of these, and 
he dashed down stairs to Dinah. 

“ Now, if thee will help me,” he said, “ we will 
speedily saturate these with water, and I will hasten 
through the trap door, and spread them upon the roof, 
and thus perchance we may check the conflagration.” 

“ What do you mean by saterate them ? ” asked the 
cook, with her knuckles against her sides, and her arms 
akimbo. 

“ Wet them—soak them.” 

“ What with?” 

“ Water, of course.” 

Dinah shook like an immense bowl of jelly. 

142 


THE RED PLUME 


M3 


“ Dar ain’t a peck ob water in de house; my baby 
drunked ’bout a bushel himself.” 

The Friend recoiled, thunderstruck. 

“ Verily, I am astonished,” said he, almost in a de¬ 
spairing tone. 

“ It would ’stonish anybody to see dat baby eat and 
drink. Why, only toder day—” 

But the affrighted Friend did not stay to hear her 
through. The next minute he was in the second story, 
where Mr. and Mrs. Prescott were fairly stunned at 
the magnitude of the calamity that had come upon 
them so suddenly. 

“We are lost! we are lost!” moaned the latter, 
wringing her hands, and walking back and forth. 
“ Why do not Red Plume and Jud come to our assist¬ 
ance? Have mercy, Heavenly Father!” 

She was constantly praying to Him who alone could 
save her, while the husband was beseeching help from 
the same divine source. 

“ Do thee haste to the lower story, ” commanded 
Fielding, taking hold of each, and shoving them to¬ 
ward the stairs. “ We will all meet there, and prepare 
to rush from the door.” 

The two mechanically obeyed him, hardly con¬ 
scious of what they were doing, or what he had said; 
and tarrying only long enough to make sure of his 
order being heeded, the young man rushed into another 
room for Lige and Cato. 

This apartment was illuminated by the glare of the 


144 


THE RED PLUME 


burning barn, and the instant he burst open the door, 
he saw the latter, curled up and sound asleep upon the 
floor, while Lige was in the very act of climbing out 
the window. 

Like a panther, the Quaker leaped entirely across the 
room, and catching the negro by the arm, drew him in 
with such violence that he was thrown prostrate upon 
his face. 

The shock awoke Cato, who stared about him in 
bewilderment. 

“ What de ole Harry is de matter ? ” he asked, blink¬ 
ing and staring around in the strong light. “ Dar must 
be a ’clipse ob de moon, dat frowed Lige out ob bed, 
and Master Fielding am picking him up. ” 

By this time the baffled African was upon his feet, 
sullen and scowling. 

“What you catch hold me dat way fur?” he de¬ 
manded, clutching and working his fingers as if he held 
an invisible knife, which he was about to bury in the 
body of the Friend. 

“ Thou wert running into great danger, for the hea¬ 
then will see thee, and fire their guns at thee. ” 

“ Wal, won’t we git burned up if we stay h’ar? ” 

“ It is not our intention to remain here. We pro¬ 
pose to leave the house, but not by way of the 
window. ” 

“ How you gwine to git out den ? ” 

“ Go to the lower floor, and when all is ready we 
will make a rush, and perchance through the assistance 


THE RED PLUME 


145 

of Divine Providence, and our friends who are sta¬ 
tioned on the outside, some of us may escape to a place 
of safety. ” 

Lige stood without moving. Baffled at all points, 
treated with rudeness and insult, he was about ready 
for open revolt. The opportunity was good, when the 
attention of those who esteemed themselves his masters 
was taken up with the terrible danger upon them. 

But when Lige looked up and saw the gleam of the 
eyes that were fixed upon him, he quailed, and obeyed 
like a whipped dog. Without a word he disappeared 
down stairs. 

At this juncture the voice of Dinah was heard call¬ 
ing to her baby to hurry down, without an instant’s 
delay, and it is hardly necessary to say that her sum¬ 
mons was not in vain. 

Once more Fielding ran to the upper story to see 
whether there was any possible means by which any 
could escape from the building in that direction. 

But there was none, and he hurried to the window 
for some signal from his friends. They were on the 
alert. On the edge of the clearing, next the lake, he 
caught sight of an Indian, who instantly made a curi¬ 
ous gesture with his arm; but the Quaker understood 
it, and he made a returning signal as a promise that the 
advice of Red Plume would be followed. 

As Fielding started to move away, he heard a crack¬ 
ling noise over his head which arrested him. Listening 


146 


THE RED PLUME 


a moment, he sprang upon a chair, and slightly raised 
the trap-door. 

His worst fears were realized. The storm of blazing 
cinders that filled the air had driven large numbers 
upon the roof, and the twists of flame could be seen in 
a dozen places, spreading and burning with a fierceness 
which showed how good a fuel not only they, but the 
whole building, were, and how speedily the entire 
structure would be reduced to ashes. 

The Sioux were wild with delight. They could be 
seen leaping, and running, flinging their arms, screech¬ 
ing, whooping, howling, and acting like so many imps 
of darkness. 

And justly so; for had they not triumphed at last? 
They had lost a few of their number, but now they 
could revenge themselves in whatsoever manner they 
chos£. The whole household were doomed, and a few 
minutes more, and the victory would be complete. 

The ingenuity of the human mind is wonderful, and 
the shrewdness displayed by the friendly Sioux, in this 
dreadful crisis, was amazing. It is a well-known fact 
that, during the Minnesota massacres—as has often 
been the case before and since—brave men were stupe¬ 
fied by the appalling character of the danger which 
burst so suddenly upon them. In one case a reeking 
redskin leaped into a wagon, containing not only 
women, but grown-up men, and tomahawked one after 
the other, without any resistance, the men sitting with 


THE RED PLUME 


147 


drooping arms and stolid faces, and receiving the 
death-blow without moving a muscle in defence. 

But Red Plume was one of the few whose mind 
seemed to rise above every peril encountered. The 
greater its magnitude, the more fertile was he in his 
intellectual resources. 

The truth was, he had been through such scenes as 
this before, and there was hardly a quickening of a 
pulse-beat, as he partly screened himself in the edge of 
the wood, and signalled to Fielding to bring himself 
and friends from the front-door, and advance directly 
across the clearing, where they would inevitably be 
captured without exception. 

Indeed the young Quaker displayed an ingenuity 
scarcely second to that of his dusky friend. 

He reasoned, that if the men ventured first, they 
would instantly be shot down to prevent their escape, 
while the women coming after, would be.captured. As 
the latter calamity was unavoidable, all that could be 
done was to avert the former. 

The only method of doing this was for the fugitives 
to rush out in a body. The presence of the females 
would probably prevent their being fired upon—but if 
that failed, there was nothing more to be done. 

The upper part of the house was one roaring mass of 
flames, and there was imminent danger of the roof fall¬ 
ing in every moment. 

Fielding unbarred the front door with his own 
hands. 


148 THE RED PLUME 

“ Thou wilt place thine arm around thy wife,” said 
he, addressing Mr. Prescott, “ and run for the large 
oak which is on the edge of the clearing. 

“ But we cannot reach it; the consequences will be 
certain death. ” 

“Think not of consequences, but do thy duty and 
trust to God. ” 

“ And you?” 

“ Will follow with Dinah and Lige and Cato. ” 

“Whar dat baby ob mine? ” demanded the African 
mother, whirling round, and catching him by his ear. 
“ You take hold my hand, Cato, and if you tries to run 
away, I’ll whack you till you can’t stand. ” 

“ If by any possibility we should reach the wood? ” 
asked Prescott, turning to Fielding. 

“ Keep down the side of th e lake, and run as fast 
as thou canst. ” 

In that solemn moment, when all stood, as it were, 
in the very presence-chamber of death, it was but natu¬ 
ral that an appeal should be sent up to the only Power 
that could stretch forth its hand to save them. 

And the whole party, excepting the negroes, who, it 
may be said, had no realizing sense of their situation, 
bowed their heads, and in silence sent up such an appeal 
to God, as only the human heart can do, when the dark¬ 
ness of death is closing around, and no mortal being 
can help. Thus the soul turns instinctively to the one 
great Source of strength. 

The next moment Fielding drew the door wide open, 


THE RED PLUME 


149 


and Prescott and his wife stepped forth. At this time, 
the burning barn and building lit up the clearing with 
a light stronger than at noonday, and many a dark eye 
was fixed upon them. 

The pause was but for a moment, when both started 
on a light run toward the point indicated by the Quaker 
before starting. 

They had not gone one half the distance when the 
silence (which had lasted but a few seconds) was 
broken by a whoop, and, at the same instant, three In¬ 
dians were seen running diagonally across the clearing, 
in such a direction as to intercept them. 

“ We are lost! we are lost! ” moaned Mrs. Prescott, 
about to sink to the earth, when her husband supported 
her. i , 

“ Never mind; they will only take us prisoners. ” 

The two made all haste, and, as they reached the 
wood, found they were in the power of the trio of In¬ 
dians, one of whom instantly took away Mr. Prescott’s 
gun. 

At this juncture, Dinah, the cook, holding her baby 
by one hand, while her arm, which looked like the leg 
of a piano, rested upon that of Fielding, sallied forth. 

She was of enormous size, weighing well nigh two 
hundred; and, as may be understood, was not capable 
of going very fast; but, under the urging and tugging 
of Cato, she essayed a trot, which almost shook her to 
pieces. 

Scarcely a rod had been passed, when her foot 


THE RED PLUME 


150 

caught in some obstruction, and she capsized, despite 
the heroic efforts of Fielding to prevent the catastro¬ 
phe. 

“ Verily, I fear thou art grievously injured, ” he 
said, as, unmindful of his own great danger, he en¬ 
deavored to help her on her feet. 

“ Should think I was! ” she groaned, coming up by 
degrees. “ Whar’s dat Cato ? Gone and runned 
away! Ah, dar he is! ” 

And she caught sight of her undutiful child ap¬ 
proaching, just at the moment he was seized in the iron 
grip of a brawny savage. 

“ Drop dat pet ob mine! ” she fairly shrieked, bear¬ 
ing down upon the Sioux like a lightning express train, 
under tolerable headway, on a down grade; she struck 
him with a momentum that was irresistible, and the 
Indian was shuffled a dozen feet or so before he could 
check himself. 

“ I’ll teach you to be interferin’ wid oder folks’ ba¬ 
bies ! ” she exclaimed, making another lunge at him, 
while he ingloriously retreated, amid the laughter of 
his comrades, and while Cato took shelter under the 
wing of his parent. 

“ Whar dat Lige? ” asked the panting Dinah, glar¬ 
ing around for the other sable gentleman, but failing 
to see him. 

“ He has fled, ” replied Fielding, who had seen him 
slip off to one side and run in a different direction. 


THE RED PLUME 


“ Wall, he has allers been a heap ob trouble; let him 

go. ” 

There were now something like a dozen Indians 
grouped around the captives, and their intention was to 
kill every one of them, although whether to do it now, 
or to wait until daylight, was a question which seemed 
unsettled by any of them. 

But thus far everything had gone precisely as Red 
Plume had anticipated, and it remained for him to give 
another evidence of the extraordinary fertility of re¬ 
source at his command. 

The number of Sioux who held the captives in 
charge was so large, that while there was a good pros¬ 
pect of their being overpowered, yet Red Plume knew 
it could not be done without a desperate fight, the 
length of which would bring all the Sioux in the 
neighborhood into it, and, in all probability, insure the 
death of more than one member of the party. 

His object, therefore, was to divert the attention of 
the Sioux to another quarter, and to draw as large a 
number as possible away from the prisoners. 

Suddenly a peculiar whoop was heard from the other 
side of the clearing, beyond and behind the blazing 
house and barn. It was the Sioux call for assistance. 
Something had been discovered of a startling nature, 
and the majority of the redskins made a rush for the 
spot at once. 

Still, they did not forget their usual caution, and 


* 5 2 


THE RED PLUME 


three of them, fully armed, remained in charge of those 
whom they had already secured. 

This, under ordinary circumstances, would have 
been all sufficient, as these savages were armed to the 
teeth, and the captives did not possess so much as a 
single knife among them. 

The Sioux had barely time to disappear, when a 
voice at no great distance called to the fugitives: 

“ Now run, right down dong the lake! ” 

No one saw the speaker, but Fielding recognized the 
voice as that of old Jud, and he lost not a moment in 
obeying it. 

“ Now is our time, friends, ” said he, “ for truly that 
was the voice of a friend. Heed not the heathens, but 
make all haste. 

Mr. Prescott and his wife made a rush down the side 
of the lake, the Quaker, Dinah and Cato attempting to 
follow. Lige was still invisible. 

As may be supposed, they were hardly allowed to 
start, when they were fiercely encountered by the three 
Sioux who held them in charge. 

Not the variation of a hair’s breadth of the original 
programme of Red Plume had as yet occurred. This 
was precisely the number he had conjectured would be 
left behind to guard the prisoners, and that which now 
followed was calculated upon when he laid his course 
of action. 

The Indian who raised his tomahawk in the face of 
Mr. Prescott, in such a threatening manner, was sud- 


THE RED PLUME 


*53 


denly stricken to the earth, with his head cloven by the 
weapon of Red Plume, who hurled it while he was yet 
a rod distant. Almost at the same instant, old Jud 
sprang forward, with a panther-like movement, and 
buried his knife to the hilt in the back of the second, 
just as Captain Swarthausen made a lunge with his 
sword at the third, who dodged the blow with no little 
skill, and succeeded in getting off in the woods without 
a scratch. 

Not a second could be spared. In a few minutes, at 
most, the other Sioux would detect the trick that had 
been played upon them, and would be back again. 

Prescott and his wife resumed their flight, under the 
pilotage of old Jud, while Red Plume lingered in the 
rear, which was really the place of danger. 

Dinah had rested sufficiently to recover her “ wind ” 
and she now pitched forward again, like an overloaded 
elephant, with the hand of Cato clasped firmly by her 
own, while the kind-hearted Fielding still supported 
her on the left. 

In this order the flight was begun, and kept up with 
desperate vigor, which it is almost impossible to realize. 
Every one fully comprehended that it was a struggle 
for life, and did his and her utmost. 

The fugitives had not yet gotten beyond the glare of 
the burning buildings, when several whoops told that 
their flight had been discovered by the Sioux, and they 
were in hot pursuit. 

If they could get fairly within the darkness of the 


*54 


THE RED PLUME 


wood before being discovered, there was a good pros¬ 
pect of escape, as the Indians not only were unable to 
follow their trail, but had no means of detecting the 
direction they had taken. 

Fully aware of this, Jud urged them to the utmost, 
and the bulky Dinah threw her whole soul into the one 
effort to get over the ground as fast as possible. 

A person who for years has been accustomed to 
walking at a moderate gait, is very apt to think it an 
easy matter to run; but when he comes to undertake it, 
strange pains and sprains occur in different parts of 
the body, and he is pretty certain to break down all at 
once, and almost as soon as he starts. 

So with the cook. She was just fairly under way, 
when one of her ankles suddenly gave out and she 
dropped as if shot. 

“ Dat’s orful! ” she groaned, as Fielding again 
helped her to her feet. “ I b’leve dat leg is broke. Jus’ 
hear dem Injians yawp. ” 

“ Strive thy best,” said the mild-spoken Quaker; 
“ there is a boat close at hand, in which thou canst 
speedily rest thy weariness. ” 

“ I should think I was doing my best, ” she ejacu¬ 
lated, as she managed to get on her feet again. 

Old Jud would not allow Prescott and his wife to 
pause, when the accident occurred to the cook. 

“ Ef we’ve got to lose any one, it may as well be 
her, ” he said, as he hurried them forward. “ Like as 
not she’ll sink the boat anyway when she gets into it. ”, 


THE RED PLUME 


155 

Mrs. Prescott was exhausted, and began to lag, see¬ 
ing which, the hunter seized her arm and almost 
carried her along. 

It seemed that the whooping Sioux were all around 
them. One thing was certain, they were not far be¬ 
hind, and the danger of discovery was growing more 
imminent each minute. 

The boat in which they intended taking refuge, when 
there appeared to be any safety in doing so, was still 
some distance away, while, if the aborigines should 
gain any idea of the line of retreat adopted by the fugi¬ 
tives, they could easily intercept them, and turn the 
whole party back in the woods again, there to fall into 
their hands as soon as morning should come. 

Thus far our friends had been tramping through the 
woods; but for a short distance there was an open space 
for a hundred yards or so, and beyond this a dense 
mass of undergrowth where the waiting boat lay con¬ 
cealed. 

It was the intention of old Jud not to expose himself 
and friends to any additional danger, by entering this 
place, but to skirt it until the dense bushes beyond were 
reached; but at the very moment he reached it, he saw 
several shadowy forms move across the opposite end, 
and he suddenly drew back. 

“ The varmints are there, ” said he; “ follow me, 
and be careful not to speak a word. ” 

It would have been the part of prudence for the 
scout to leave his friends where they were, while he 


i5 6 


THE RED PLUME 


went forward to reconnoitre, but time was now of such 
importance that he took the more dangerous course of 
allowing them to accompany him. 

But, hurried as they were, he could not forget en¬ 
tirely his usual habits of caution, and so considerable 
time was consumed before the cover of the under¬ 
growth was reached. 

When, however they got within this again, nothing 
was seen or heard of the Indians, and Jud stole for¬ 
ward until he reached the edge of the lake, where he 
was pleased to find the boat lying just as he had left it 
hours before. 

Prescott and his wife took their seats in the stern, 
but the hunter did not enter. 

“ Stay here till I come back, ” said he. “ I must go 
and see what has become of the rest. ” 

This was the very thing Prescott was about to ask 
him to do, and so he bade him good speed on his errand 
of duty. 

The fact that nothing now was heard of those in the 
rear, was ominous of evil, and Jud hurried through the 
wood, expecting at every step to receive evidence of the 
whole three being in the hands of the Sioux, as he knew 
that the Friend was too chivalrous to desert even such 
an humble individual as Dinah, the black cook, when 
she was in peril, though he incurred a fate similar to 
hers, by remaining. 

But matters were found in a better condition than he 
dared to hope. About half way to the point where they 


THE RED PLUME 


157 


had parted company, he encountered Cato, who at first 
was disposed to run, but was quickly checked by the 
cautious voice of the hunter, inquiring as to what was 
the matter. 

“Golly! I was jist lookin’ for you. ” 

“ Sh! not so loud! Where’s your mother ? ” 

“She’s gib out. ” 

“What’s the matter? ” 

“ She tried to jump ober a log, and sprained de off 
leg, and has gib out. ” 

“Where is she?” 

“ Back yunder, a sittin’ on de wery tree dat she 
broke her neck ober. ” 

“Is Fielding with her?” 

“ Yas; he’s got a limb in his hand brushin’ de flies 
off ob her nose, and she sent me to tell you dat you’ll 
have to s’cuse her from runnin’ any more races at 
present. ” 

“ It won’t do for her to stay there, ” said the hunter, 
“the varmints are rampagin’ through the woods. 
Where’s Captain Swarthausen ? ” 

“ Jingo! I hain’t seen nuflin ob him since we 
started. ” 

In the hurry and confusion of the flight, Captain 
Swarthausen had become separated from the others; 
but knowing where they all were to rendezvous, he 
had probably purposely refrained from rejoining them, 
and had continued on at such a prudent rate as to make 
him considerably behind Jud in reaching the boat. 


THE RED PLUME 


158 

From the beginning, Muggins had been set down as 
of no account, and he was despatched to a point a half 
mile down the lake, where they agreed to call for him 
in case the company got off without accident. 

Those, then, who might still be considered in great 
peril were Fielding, and Dinah and her son. 

Show me where they are, ” commanded Judkins, in 
his cautious manner, “ and be careful not to make any 
noise about it, and keep your gab shut.” 

“Dat’s what I allers try to do,” said Cato, as he led 
the way. “ I nebber was much ob a hand to talk, but 
mother always said I was, and I said I wasn’t, and so 
yer see we had a ’spute ober it, and couldn’t neber 
agree ‘bout it nohow—” 

But the scout was in no mood to listen to the lo¬ 
quacity of the African, and he peremptorily closed his 
month before he had time even to finish his sentence. 

The shouts and whoops of the Indians had, in a 
great measure, ceased; but this was no evidence that 
they were not prosecuting the search with as great 
vigor as ever. 

The burning buildings had been mostly consumed, 
and only a dull glare could be seen where, a short time 
before the whole heavens were illuminated. The 
property of the Prescotts had been destroyed, nothing 
but the glowing embers being left where the handsome 
house and barn had stood so long in safety. 

Only a few minutes were necessary for old Jud to 
reach the tree where Dinah was sitting. As he came 


THE RED PLUME 


*59 


up, he found Fielding endeavoring to convince her 
that it was possible for her to make some progress, if 
she would only put forth the attempt. 

“ I tell you it’s onpossible! ” said she, somewhat pet¬ 
ulantly; “ dat ar leg ain’t worth shucks.” 

“ But I will do my utmost to assist thee.” 

“Ain’t no use ob talkin’—” 

“No; thar’s been a little too much of it,” inter¬ 
rupted the hunter, as he strode forward, in no very 
amiable mood. “You can do as you please, old Mid¬ 
night—sit on that log till you grow fast, or go ’long 
with us.” 

“ Wal, I’ll hef to sit yar, den—Masser Fielding and 
me baby can stay wid me.” 

“No; they can’t, I shan’t let one of ’em stay. 
You can set it out alone, ef you want to.” 

Dinah had seen old Jud before, and she had no de¬ 
sire to thwart him, so she concluded to make another 
effort. 

But she had really sprained her limb, and was not 
able to walk of herself; but Fielding assisted at one 
side, and old Jud at the other, while Cato offered to 
carry her shoes; and, supported in this manner, they 
started for the lake. 

The latter, fortunately, was quite close at hand, 
and reaching the bank, they let her down, gently, where 
they concluded to leave her until they could bring the 
boat to her, while Fielding and Jud started off with the 
promise of a speedy return. Of course, they could not 


i6o 


THE RED PLUME 


refuse to allow Cato to remain with her, although the 
latter would have been better pleased in almost any 
other place. 

Old Jud and Fielding had walked some distance in 
the wood, when the latter said: 

“ As it seems that I can be of no further assistance 
to thee, if thou art willing, I will hasten to Lillian and 
Edith, who, perchance, are in need of help.” 

The scout could offer no objection, and the Friend 
vanished almost on the instant. 

When Jud reached the boat, he found Captain 
Swarthausen there and waiting for him. 

“ Where is Muggins? ” 

“ Gone on around the lake, I suppose. I haven’t 
come across him since we started.” 

“ Have you seen Red Plume ? ” 

“No; but there were Indians all around in the 
woods, and it seems a miracle that we have escaped 
thus far.” 

The hunter then explained that the rest of the party 
were waiting for them up the lake, and that he had 
promised to return for them. 

As there was no telling whether it would be safe to 
come back to this spot, the whole party, numbering 
four, stepped into the boat, when the astounding dis¬ 
covery was made that it would not hold another per¬ 
son ! 

The vessel was simply an ordinary canoe, intended 
to carry two persons, but capable of supporting double 


THE RED PLUME 161 

that number. The large boat, in which the younger 
members of the party had crossed the lake, had prob¬ 
ably fallen into the hands of the Sioux, as no one knew 
where to find it. 

Here was a dilemma, which brought a smile to the 
face of the grizzled old hunter as he reflected what the 
consequences would be of dropping Dinah in among 
them. 

“ The boat would go down, and, like enough, she 
would float, and the rest of us would have to swim.” 

“ What are we to do, then? ” inquired the Captain. 
“ I can see but one remedy, and that is for Prescott and 
me to get out and foot it, while you take charge.” 

As this was, indeed, the only escape from the di¬ 
lemma, it was adopted, and Jud Judkins, with no one 
in the canoe excepting Mrs. Prescott, began feel¬ 
ing his way cautiously along the shore of the lake in 
search of Dinah and her heir. 

As both Red Plume and the hunter had explained 
to the different members of the party the location of 
Lillian and Edith, there were now quite a company 
threading through the woods, all converging toward 
the supposed camping ground of Mr. Pipkins and his 
charge. 

Fielding had an anxiety at heart, which he care¬ 
fully concealed when in the presence of others; but 
now, when alone, he sped through the woods like an 
Indian upon the trail of an enemy. 

He knew, indeed, that the two girls needed the 


162 


THE RED PLUME 


presence of strong arms, and one of them especially 
had scarcely been absent from his thoughts during the 
most fearful moments of the siege and attack upon the 
house. It was Edith, the brave, the magnificent, the 
reckless haste that the officer found necessary to check 
had never known before. 

Behind the Friend came Captain Swarthausen and 
Prescott, the latter burning with an apprehension that 
seemed to increase each moment, and urged him into a 
reckless haste that the officer found necssary to check 
almost constantly, lest both should be precipitated into 
some grave danger. 

And ahead of them all, plodding patiently through 
the woods, and almost at his goal, was Muggins, who, 
poor man, knew and suspected nothing of the tragic 
deed that the forest had witnessed in the darkness of 
the night, but he counted confidently upon meeting his 
wife in the course of an hour or so at the most, when 
they would unitedly continue their efforts to escape, 
and, perhaps, all in good time reach Fort Grandon, 
where they might laugh to scorn the rage of the Sioux. 

But none of the party was out of danger as yet, for 
the redskins were in every portion of the wood, more 
silent than before, but more wary and none the less 
determined in tracing out the fugitives who thus far 
had eluded them in such a clever manner. 

The last exploit had shown the Sioux a fact which 
they had only partly believed before. General occur¬ 
rences had led some of them to suspect that there were 


THE RED PLUME 


163 


some outside parties assisting those within the build¬ 
ing, but they were uncertain until the stratagem, which 
has been referred to, was tried upon them with such 
success. 

If there had been any doubt remaining, it was re¬ 
moved by this, as well as by the testimony of their 
only surviving comrade, who had been left in charge of 
the prisoners. 

We have referred to the wonderful sagacity of Red 
Plume. This will be more apparent when we state 
that, up to this point, his scheme of rescue had scarcely 
varied in the least from what he had planned at the be¬ 
ginning. 

The gathering of the redskins around the fugitives 
after they had issued from the building—the diversion 
by means of his own false signals—its success—the at¬ 
tack of the scout, Old Jud—the flight of the whites— 
their separation in the woods, and their final con¬ 
vergence toward the point at the extreme end; all these 
were what he had counted upon, and what had taken 
place just as predicted. 

When Dinah was deposited in the hunter’s canoe, 
and her son Cato was placed near her, and he in turn 
followed by Jud, it may well be supposed that the frail 
boat was well loaded. In fact, a few more pounds 
would have sent it to the bottom of the lake; and when 
the leader took the paddle in hand he made up his mind 
that he was in no condition to run a race with any hos¬ 
tile boat. All that he could hope to do was gradually 


164 


THE RED PLUME 


to propel the boat toward the river, down which the at¬ 
tempt would doubtless be made to reach Fort Grandon. 

At first he was undecided whether to head straight 
across the lake for the mouth of the river, or whether 
to coast the shore. Finally, he took the latter course, 
advancing with his usual care, and keeping in the dark 
bank of shadow as well as was possible. 

A common fear was now upon all the fugitives—‘-and 
that was, that day would break before they could get 
well out of the way of the Indians. 

As soon as it should become fairly light the Sioux 
would be able to follow their trail, if found; and what 
these people could do to the injury of the fugitives, it 
was very certain they would do. 

So, as old Jud gently propelled the canoe along the 
bank, he not only was on the alert against running into 
immediate danger, but he was busily speculating upon 
the future, and what the prospect was of getting the 
whole party safely away, when they should all unite 
and start upon their journey southward. 

Dinah, now and then, gave utterance to a groan, but 
she had gained such an appreciating sense of her dan¬ 
ger from the scout as well as the Indians, that she was 
tolerably quiet. 

Cato dropped asleep almost the moment he seated 
himself, and his mother probably would have done the 
same had not her sprained limb forbidden. 

Slowly the canoe coursed along the coast until fully 
half the distance was passed, when the faintest and 


THE RED PLUME 


165 

most tremulous of whistles reached the ears of Jud, 
and, resting on his paddle, he replied in the same man¬ 
ner. 

“ What dat ? ” asked the alarmed Dinah. 

“ Shet up! ” commanded Jud, raising his oar in a 
threatening manner. 

Again the signal was repeated, and immediately 
after, the African sister discerned the outlines of a 
canoe bearing down upon them. She was about to 
utter a screech of alarm, but another significant gesture 
from the hunter prevented, and she cowered in silence, 
while the boat came up like a shadow. 

One single occupant in it only, and he was Red 
Plume. Laying himself alongside, the two exchanged 
a few words, and then Cato was awakened, and com¬ 
pelled to step into the other boat. 

This partially equalized matters, and the two boats 
headed across the lake toward the mouth of the Cres¬ 
cent River, the Indian taking the lead, and old Jud fol¬ 
lowing close in the rear. 

At the same time, the growing light in the east 
showed that the eventful night was drawing to a close, 
and only a few minutes more of favoring darkness re¬ 
mained. 

Day was indeed coming—a day not less fraught 
with incident and peril than the dozen hours that had 
already passed away. 

The two men who, it may be said, were the direc¬ 
tors of the little party, were veterans enough in wilder- 


i66 


THE RED PLUME 


ness and frontier life to dread the rising of the sun 
which was to guide the merciless Sioux in their relent¬ 
less tracking of the fugitives through the wood, and 
they now drove their boats with astonishing speed 
through the water to where the helpless females and 
their equally helpless companion were awaiting their 
coming, hopefully, and yet with the trembling appre¬ 
hension of those who had learned, in some degree, the 
fearful peril that impended over them. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


THE MEETING 

“ Ugh, now! this is a bore! Here I’ve been out over 
night, a mark for the dew to aim at, and liable to catch 
cold, and—atchew! ” 

Mr. Pipkins awoke at an unusually early hour for 
him (that is, when the sun was but a few degrees 
above the horizon), and throwing off his blanket, sat 
up in the boat, and made the remark above given, 
rounding off his period with a terrific sneeze, which 
being repeated several times, excited considerable ap¬ 
prehension upon his part. 

“ Jingo! a few more explosions like that, and the 
end of my nose will be blowed off! Fact is, I always 
considered a sneeze as a human earthquake, from the 
way it shakes a fellow up. Hello! there’s Edith and 
Lil asleep yet. Wonder if they’ve got a cold? ” 

The young man stretched his limbs, yawned, and 
seemed gradually to collect his bewildered senses. 

“ No; it isn’t a dream! ” he suddenly exclaimed, as 
he slapped his knee; “ there was a young fellow here 
last night—that Colonel Havens from Fort Grampus, 
and he took Lil off in a canoe and has brought her back 
167 


i68 


THE RED PLUME 


again; but what’s become of him? That’s the ques¬ 
tion, as the immortal William observes.” 

After a moment’s severe cogitation he shook his 
head. 

“ I give it up; it’s a conundrum I can’t answer. The 
only solution I can give is that he was so smitten with 
jealousy when he saw me that he brought Lil back and 
committed suicide. But, by jingo! I must stretch my 
legs.” 

The canoe was so close to the bank that he had only 
to step upon the land, and he did so without disturbing 
the fair sleepers remaining behind. 

The latter awoke shortly after his departure, and, 
as may be supposed, were both thoughtful and sad. 
They instinctively turned their eyes toward the lake, as 
if they would penetrate to the other shore and learn 
what had there taken place during the hours they had 
slept. 

All was still, but what did it signify? 

Were father and mother still living? Was this op¬ 
pressive silence ominous of death? Was all hope 
gone? 

Earnestly and fervently the sisters prayed to Heaven 
in their dire extremity—prayed not so much for them¬ 
selves as for those who they hoped, but hardly dare 
believe, were still living. 

Making their ablutions in the clear water of the 
stream upon which they were floating, they stepped 


THE RED PLUME 169 

upon the bank and awaited the return of their compan¬ 
ion. 

He was not long in making his appearance, and he 
came with the question, while he smoked his meer¬ 
schaum : 

“ Lil, where is that Colonel that was here last 
night? ” 

“ He went back hours ago.” 

“ Why didn’t he stay? ” 

“ He was compelled to return.” 

“ But he ought not to have been compelled when his 
presence was needed here.” 

“ He offered to remain but he could be of no use,” 
replied Edith, “ and he must be many miles away by 
this time.” 

“ Oh! it doesn’t make any particular difference,” re¬ 
marked Pipkins, in his lofty way, “ he didn’t strike me 
as of much account, anyhow.” 

“ He is a nephew of Captain Swarthausen, and one 
of the bravest young men in the country,” Lillian 
hastened to say with considerable warmth. 

“ Oh!—ah!—I am sure I have no objection; but I 
have just become aware of a highly important fact.” 

The sisters looked inquiringly toward him. 

“ We haven’t had supper or breakfast, and what’s 
more, there isn’t a very brilliant prospect of getting 
one at present.” 

All were ahungered and faint, but the girls had 
scarcely thought of food. Indeed, there was nothing to 


I/O 


THE RED PLUME 


be gained by thinking of it, as it was entirely beyond 
their means to procure any. 

“ If I only had a fishing-line/’ said Pipkins, looking 
wishfully at the water, “ I might persuade some of 
those fish to come out, and then I suppose you could 
clean and cook them.” 

“ You have matches, else how came your pipe lit? ” 

“Yes; I discovered several stowed away in the cor¬ 
ner of the side pocket, under the arm of my duster. 
When you can’t eat it’s a very good thing to have some 
of the weed about you; but for all that, I would very 
much enjoy throwing myself outside of a porter-house 
steak just now.” 

“ Oh! if father and mother would come,” said 
Lillian, gazing with a longing and inexpressible sad¬ 
ness toward the lake. 

“ By cracky, but that reminds me of something I 
had forgotten entirely,” said Pipkins very earnestly, as 
he removed his pipe from his mouth. “ I took a little 
walk up the river bank, and if I ain’t very greatly mis¬ 
taken I saw signs of Indians coming down the shore of 
the lake.” 

As if to give emphasis to his words, a rustling among 
the undergrowth was heard at this moment, and imme¬ 
diately after Captain Swarthausen stepped forth to 
view. Behind him came Fielding and Muggins, all of 
their countenances lit up with pleasure as they greeted 
the girls. 

But the faces of the latter blanched with a terrible 


THE RED PLUME 


171 

fear, and Edith was barely able to gasp out: “ Father 
and mother! where are they? ” 

“ Not far off,” replied the cheery voice of the Cap¬ 
tain. “ Red Plume and Jud are coming down the river 
in a canoe. Your father came most of the way through 
the wood, but he got into the boat again with your 
mother, and they are close by.” 

“And the rest?” asked Lillian. 

“ Dinah and Cato are with them, but the darkeys 
’Lige and Pomp are in the hands of the ‘ varmints/ as 
old Jud calls them.” 

Immediately after the large sail boat which had 
been used upon the lake floated in sight, and in it were 
all the others that had escaped from the Sioux, except¬ 
ing Jud, who was immediately behind in his own ca¬ 
noe. 

It was an affecting meeting, and many and devout 
were the thanks that were sent up to Him who had so 
mercifully brought them thus far through the dangers. 

For some moments the others stood in respectful si¬ 
lence, until the parents and children had recovered 
from the agitation of their meeting, and then the start¬ 
ling question came from Muggins, 

“ Where is my wife f ” 

The sad truth could not be concealed from him, and 
Edith took upon herself the painful duty of telling him 
how she had died. The poor man was overcome with 
terror and grief for a time, and then he asked to be 
taken to her. 


172 


THE RED PLUME 


Edith led the way, while Captain Swarthausen and 
old Jud followed. The body had not been disturbed 
during the night, and was found precisely as it had 
fallen. 

The sharp ashen paddles were brought from the 
boats, together with a sort of anchor from the larger 
one, the fluke of which served very well as a pick, and 
with these rude implements a grave was dug, in which 
all that was mortal of the woman was placed; and 
when the imperative voice of prudence commanded, the 
hunter led the sorrowing husband away from the 
scene. 


CHAPTER XIX 


A KEG OF WHISKY 

If there ever was need for hurry upon the part of 
any poor fugitives escaping from vengeance, there was 
need now for our friends to hasten on their way down 
the river to Fort Grandon. 

It had been broad daylight for over an hour, and 
the opportunity was given the Sioux to take their trail, 
which, if followed for a slight distance, could not fail 
to give the savages a clue to the general direction, and, 
in all probability, to their destination. 

None realized the true condition of affairs more than 
Red Plume and old Jud, who showed a haste in their 
movements, such as was rarely displayed by them. 

Much as the entire party needed food, there was no 
time to wait for it now. All of them, excepting the two 
scouts mentioned, were placed in the larger boat, of 
which the sail was hoisted, and, assisted by wind and 
current, it sped quite rapidly down stream. 

Some distance ahead of it went old Jud, alone in his 
canoe. He was the “ feeler ” thrown out in front to 
detect the danger that was before, and to warn and pre¬ 
vent the larger boat from running inextricably into it. 

Red Plume, in his feather-like canoe, went up stream 


173 


174 


THE RED PLUME 


and into the lake, his aim being to penetrate the in¬ 
tentions of the Sioux there, and to do what he could 
to divert them from a too rapid pursuit of the fugi¬ 
tives—a task which, it will be seen, was the most deli¬ 
cate and dangerous of all. 

He was pleased, but surprised, that none of the red¬ 
skins had as yet made their appearance at the point of 
embarkation; for, as several had walked the entire dis¬ 
tance, they could easily trace them to the place. 

As he emerged into the lake, he kept close under the 
undergrowth, on the western bank, and, with his keen, 
eager eye, scanned everything in his field of vision. 
The morning was clear and sunshiny, and he could not 
have been given a better opportunity for reconnoiter- 
ing. 

Near the centre of the lake rested the gem-like is¬ 
land, as quiet as at “creation’s morn.” All around the 
surface of the water was scarcely rippled by a breath of 
air, but in some places was of dazzling brightness from 
its reflection of the rays of the morning sun. 

On his right were the charred remains of Captain 
Swarthausen’s house, and beyond the island could be 
seen the black and smoking ruins of Fielding’s and 
Prescott’s property; but strain his vision to the utmost, 
he could see nothing of the Sioux themselves. 

Where could they be? 

With all his shrewdness, Red Plume was at a loss to 
understand this silence upon the part of his race, and 
he sped rapidly along the shore of the lake toward the 


THE RED PLUME 


*75 


ruins of the building, with the resolve to find out what 
it all meant. 

It is a characteristic of the American Indian, that 
when he is doing nothing he is the most certain to be 
doing something; and the friendly redskin was certain 
that the curious quiet boded no good. 

With lightning-like suddenness he stopped paddling, 
for his trained ear had caught a suspicious sound. It 
was very faint, and so distant, that he was certaki it 
came from the immediate vicinity of the ruins of the 
Prescott house. 

Pulling his canoe up under the bushes, he carefully 
concealed it, and passed silently through the wood to¬ 
ward the point which had been the scene of such stir¬ 
ring events during the last few hours. On the very 
edge of the clearing he came upon the entire Sioux 
party, and one glance was sufficient to explain the cause 
of the delay in the pursuit of the fugitives. 

In the centre of the group was a small keg of whisky, 
or rather a small portion of a keg, for the greater part 
of its contents had already gone down the throats of 
the red men, and they were in a maudlin state of drunk¬ 
enness, so ludicrous in its manifestations, that even the 
iron face of Red Plume relaxed into a grim smile as he 
gazed upon them. 

About half were lolling upon the ground; some were 
asleep, others dubiously dancing, and quite a number 
were doing their best to give a war-song or speech, the 
latter of which was intended to be a thrilling recital of 


176 


THE RED PLUME 


the exploits of each particular speaker upon the war¬ 
path. 

These men had need of the strong will of a deter¬ 
mined chief to stop this maudlin scene, but unfortu¬ 
nately, the chief was the drunkest of the entire party, 
and had his arms clasped very lovingly about the neck 
of Lige, whom he evidently looked upon as a long lost 
brother. 

The African was in about the same condition, and 
two more precious fools it would be difficult to imagine, 
as they executed a sort of bear dance around each 
other. Indeed, the “ best man ” in the company was 
not half sober, and the whole thirty could have been 
shot and scalped by a half dozen of their own race, had 
they come upon them at this time. They were not cap¬ 
able either of acting on the offensive or defensive. 

No one will deny that whisky is a curse to humanity, 
but, in this case, at least, it had served a good purpose; 
for it cannot be considered possible that the fugitives, 
after congregating upon the opposite side of the lake, 
could have escaped the Sioux, had the latter been in 
their natural condition of mind and body. 

It is certain that the redskins could have speedily 
overhauled them and it would have been an easy matter 
then to have picked off every man and woman from the 
shore, as the latter had no means of protection against 
the bullets. Crescent River was a very small stream at 
its beginning, and great as was the skill and courage 
of Red Plume and old Jud, it could have availed 


THE RED PLUME 


m 


nothing at such fearful disadvantages. The two hun¬ 
ters were stirred by a deeper anxiety than any of the 
party ever suspected at the time they started down the 
river, and correspondingly great was the pleasure of 
the friendly Indian when he discovered the drunken¬ 
ness of the Sioux. 

As he crouched in the woods, narrowly watching 
the performances, he wondered where this whisky came 
from. It was not to be supposed that the savages 
brought it with them, for they were incapable of carry¬ 
ing “ fire-water ” any distance at all, unless it was 
transported inside their organizations, nor was he 
aware that there was any such property in the house. 
Had he known that there was, he would not have failed 
to suggest that it should have been given as a peace 
offering to the screeching demons on the outside. 

Still it was by no means impossible that Mr. Prescott 
owned the article, and that the Sioux had discovered it 
somewhere among the outbuildings, just at the mo¬ 
ment to prevent the pursuit which was so much 
dreaded. 

All this time Red Plume was wondering what had 
become of Pomp, the negro, who worked for the Qua¬ 
ker, Fielding. Lige was as muddled as any of them, 
and was among the first that he saw when he caught 
sight of the group as he came up. 

It was hardly to be supposed that Pomp knew 
enough to escape, even when his captors were inca¬ 
pable of taking care of him. When last seen he was a 


THE RED PLUME 


178 

secure prisoner, and the only solution that Red Plume 
could give was, that the poor fellow had been put to 
death. 

Quite a number of the Sioux had been slain, but 
death was not a welcome visitor at such a carnival, 
and he was carefully kept out of sight. 

Confident that they had not buried their dead, the 
scout withdrew from the immediate vicinity of the 
party, and began a search for them. 

He was not long in finding the ghostly collections, 
laid side by side, as if waiting sepulture, and at their 
feet lay the form of poor Pomp, who had been toma¬ 
hawked and mangled in such a dreadful manner, that 
but for his color and dress, he could not have been 
identified among the others. 

Quite a quantity of the guns and weapons belonging 
to the Sioux were arranged upon the ground near this 
morgue. Indeed, the appearance of everything indi¬ 
cated that the redskins had gone deliberately upon this 
spree, and had made their preparations for having, 
what is vulgarly termed, a “ high old time. ” 

Red Plume experienced no compunctions of con¬ 
science in appropriating a number of the choicest 
knives and rifles that he found upon the ground. He 
could have carried the entire stock away, but that he 
was fearful of arousing the ire of the owners, and pro¬ 
voking a pursuit, when there was a strong probability 
of none at all being attempted. 

So he took only a half dozen or so, which he care- 


THE RED PLUME 


179 


fully bound up, and then started on his return, passing 
by the vicinity of the revel, so as to assure himself how 
it was progressing. He had been in such performances 
himself, and he knew what a powerful fascination they 
possessed for his race, so that there was every proba¬ 
bility of the present one continuing through the en¬ 
tire day. 

If it was certain that this revelry would last until 
nightfall, these redskins were to be “ counted out ” in 
reckoning up the danger to which the fugitives were 
still subject. A twelve hours’ start was all-sufficient to 
place the fugitives entirely beyond their reach. 

The carnival was raging high and higher. Warriors 
were crawling on their hands and knees to the keg, and 
clawing and hugging it for the fiery fluid it contained. 
Not a little was wasted in their dubious attempts to 
catch it in an old tin cup which had been picked up 
somewhere. Men rolled and tumbled over each other, 
shouted and whooped, and sung, struck out danger¬ 
ously with their knives, loved and quarrelled, and did 
the hundred supremely foolish things which an intoxi¬ 
cated man is sure to do, or at least to try to do, when 
some one as brutish as himself is joined with him. 

Nothing could be more satisfactory to Red Plume 
and he made haste to join his friends down the river. 


CHAPTER XX 


DOWN THE RIVER 

And all this time the fugitives were speeding down 
Crescent River toward Fort Gran don, helped forward 
by favoring wind and current, hopeful, yet trembling 
and apprehensive, glancing furtively backward and 
forward, and on either hand—for danger was all 
around them, and there was no telling from which 
quarter it would first come. 

Several hundred yards ahead the canoe of old Jud 
could be seen now and then, as it rounded the curves, 
while he sat bolt upright in it, plying his paddle with 
consummate skill, and seeming never to look back at 
those who were so implicitly following his lead. 

As a matter of course, for the first mile or so the 
only thought was of the Sioux in their rear, and not 
a second passed that there were not some of the party 
looking fearfully back for the expected and yet dreaded 
Red Plume, whose coming, for once at least, would 
be anything but welcome. 

But as minute after minute went by, and nothing oc¬ 
curred to alarm them, hope began to rise in the breasts 
of all, and the few questions and answers exchanged 
gradually took upon themselves the form of a general 
conversation. 

180 


THE RED PLUME 


181 


It was about this time that Captain Swarthausen 
learned that his nephew, Colonel Havens, had been 
over this same ground, or rather water, the night pre¬ 
vious. 

“ Thunderation! is that so ? ” he exclaimed, when 
first he heard the astounding intelligence; “ and why 
didn’t he come to see me? ” 

But the Captain, as he sat controlling the rudder of 
the boat, answered his own question before any one 
else was given the opportunity. 

“ Of course he did come to see me, but he hadn’t the 
chance; and George has been in the West long enough 
to know considerable of the nature of the ‘noble red 
man of the woods, ’ as some of the novelists delight in 
calling him. But he inquired about me, Lillian, cer¬ 
tainly?” 

“ Oh, yes; and was very anxious to see you. He was 
on the point of starting several times, but we dissuaded 
him. ” 

“ Sensible girl. But I suspect he found a very good 
substitute for me. ” 

And the old officer smiled very significantly, others 
looked knowingly, and Lillian blushed charmingly. 

“ Fact of it is, he is more anxious to see his uncle 
than I ever knew him to be before, and this place which 
he professed to detest at first, has of late become won¬ 
derfully attractive to him. ” 

“ So it has to all of us, ” Edith hastened to say, for 
she knew her sister was pained by the pointed meaning 


182 


THE RED PLUME 


of the words of the Captain, who was all unconscious 
of the wounds he was inflicting. “ Do you not find 
the place more pleasant to you than you did at first? ” 

“ I admit that I do, provided you except the last day 
or two from your question. Just now, I think, we are 
all pleased with every mile we can put between us and 
it. Isn’t that equally true? ” 

There was no denying te truth of the Captain’s re¬ 
mark. For the time, Sleeping Water was nothing but 
a terror to them. 

“ But it cannot be always so, ” added Edith. 
“ There must soon come a time when we shall be as 
safe there as if we were in the city of Chicago. ” 

“And safer, too,” said the Captain, who, as was 
well known, held no special admiration for this thriv¬ 
ing village of the West. “ Fact of it is, I would about 
as lief be back in the ruins of my house as to be in that 
infernal city, where I was knocked down in broad day¬ 
light and robbed. If I had the power, I would declare 
martial law there, and give some of them fellows jus¬ 
tice—an article about as scarce there as it is in the city 
of New York. ” 

“ You mustn’t condemn the place as a whole for 
what happened in some portion of it,” replied Edith, 
who was glad to divert the officer from the line of re¬ 
mark with which he had opened the conversation. 

“ I was there twenty-five or thirty years ago, ” he 
said, “ and came still nearer to losing my life. ” 

“ It must have been a small town at that time. ” 


THE RED PLUME 


i8 3 

Captain Swarthausen laughed. 

“ Rather; it was in the dead of winter, and I was on 
a hunt with Lieutenant Duffield, when we lost our way, 
and were chased by a pack of wolves. We crossed the 
river on the ice, and right where the centre of Chicago 
now is we had to climb a tree to get out of their way. ” 
“ Did both of you succeed in escaping ? ” 

“ We escaped from the wolves, it is true. There 
were over a hundred of them under the tree all night, 
yelping, and howling, and leaping up, till more than 
once I thought they would get up among the limbs and 
tear us all to pieces. For a while it was fun for us, and 
death to some of them at least. As fast as we could 
load, we fired down among them and every time we did 
so we killed one, and he was snapped up and devoured 
by the others in a twinkling. ” 

“ You might have continued that until you had slain 
them all, ” remarked Prescott, quite interested in the 
conversation. 

“ That’s what we thought at first, and we kept up the 
firing until we hadn’t a charge left between us; and 
then, I believe, there were more wolves under the tree 
than there were when we first scrambled up it, and the 
taste they had had of blood made them ten times more 
crazy for ours than they were at first. ” 

“ Where did they all come from ? ” 

“ From everywhere. It was a bright moonlight 
night, and the snow made it lighter yet, so that we 
could see for a long distance; and, whatever direction 


184 


THE RED PLUME 


we looked, we could discern the lank, gray imps skit¬ 
tering over the snow-crust like mad, and all coming to¬ 
ward the tree, in which we were shivering to death.” 

“ How did it end?” 

“ Oogh! but it was cold,” replied the Captain, shud¬ 
dering at the remembrance of his fearful adventure. 
“ I never suffered so in my life. When we found we 
couldn’t shoot any more, we tried to keep our spirits up 
by jesting, laughter, and story-telling; but I tell you it 
was up-hill work! ” 

“ Were you there all night? ” 

“ Every minute of it, and you can be sure it was the 
longest night I ever spent. I sang all the songs I 
knew, and so did Duffield; but we could hardly hear 
each other for the din the wolves made; and finally we 
gave that up. By-and-by the lieutenant told me he was 
freezing to death, but I laughed at him, although I had 
about made up my mind that that was the fate await¬ 
ing both of us. ’ 

“ But you were mistaken. ” 

“ Partly so. The lieutenant was as brave a fellow as 
ever lived, and when he told me he was freezing, for 
all I ridiculed the idea, yet I knew he spoke the truth. 
He sat close to me, and I pinched him and struck him, 
and he did the same for me; and we kept climbing up 
and down among the limbs, until our hands became so 
numb that we couldn’t do it any longer, when we got 
astride the same limb and braced ourselves as best we 
could. It wasn’t a half hour before I saw Duffield nod- 


THE RED PLUME 


i8 5 

ding, and by-and-by his head drooped against me, and 
he would have fallen if I hadn’t caught him. ” 

“Was it the cold that affected him?” asked Pres¬ 
cott, while all the rest listened to the reply. 

“ It was that, and nothing else. The poor fellow 
was freezing, and no mistake. I cuffed his ears, pulled 
his hair, rubbed his arms and legs, shook him, and 
shouted in his ears, but it did no good. He roused up 
once or twice, and mumbled something about feeling 
sleepy, but I couldn’t make him realize his condition. 
It is a curious thing about the effects of cold that the 
strongest and bravest men are often the first to suc¬ 
cumb. Duffield and I were stationed at one of the fron¬ 
tier posts, about twenty miles away, and we had been 
there something over a year when this happened to us; 
and, during all that time, he had never met a superior 
in running, leaping or wrestling, or in what we called 
vim. It was believed that he could stand more expo¬ 
sure and fatigue than any man in the garrison, and yet 
here he was going into that coma which means death 
and nothing else, while I, although suffering intensely, 
was never more wide-awake in my life. But it has al¬ 
ways been the same. You know when Fremont got 
lost in the RockyMountains—that is, when his guide 
lost him—the hardiest men of his party died from their 
exposure, while Fremont himself came out of it with 
scarcely any suffering at all. I didn’t know what to 
make of it, and was expecting every minute to follow 
him; but I did not. My hands and feet ached with the 


THE RED PLUME 


186 

cold but no part of mybody became benumbed. I knew, 
as long as they hurt me, that I was all right. By-and- 
by I found that Duffield was a dead weight against me, 
and then it was all up. He was frozen stark and stiff, 
and I had to sit there and hold him on the limb to keep 
him from falling down into the jaws of the wolves that 
howled and yelped harder than ever, as if they knew I 
was cheating them of their prey. But I hung on, and 
sat there, till broad daylight, with one arm around the 
neck of the lieutenant, and with the other hand clasped 
around a limb to help steady my own body; and, if ever 
a poor fellow had the horrors, you may be certain that 
I did. ” 

“And when morning came, what then ? ” 

“ Some of the wolves went away, and some stayed 
behind. By this time it was very evident that, unless 
I got help pretty soon, it would be all up with me. I 
had no ammunition left, and even if I had, both of our 
guns had fallen to the ground, and were being clawed 
to pieces by the ravenous devils below. They had 
ceased their yelping, but they kept moving around the 
tree and looking up, and licking their jaws, as if they 
knew they had but to wait a little while longer for a 
dainty breakfast. 

“ Just as the sun came above the horizon I heard a 
gun go off, and then there was a halloo. A few min¬ 
utes later I saw a half dozen Indians and white men 
coming toward me on snow shoes, and I knew that I 
was saved. ” 


THE RED PLUME 


187 


“ Who were they ? ” 

“ They had been sent out from the fort, and had 
been hallooing and hunting for us all night. When 
they came in sight the wolves scattered as if a grizzly 
bear had dropped down among them. A couple of the 
Indians had to climb the tree and help me down, and if 
I hadn’t been rolled and rubbed in the snow until I 
screeched with pain, that would have wound up my 
earthly career. We carried Duffield back to camp, 
where he was buried with the honors of war and a 
better soldier was never put beneath the soil. ” 

“ That was your first visit to Chicago? Were there 
no cabins anywhere in the neighborhood ? ’ 

“Yes; plenty of them, scattered here and there— 
but those that lived in them were too mean to come to 
our assistance, or it may be that they were so used to 
hearing the howling of wolves that they didn’t think 
it worth while to pay attention to it. ” 

“ But the noise of your guns ought to have reached 
them. ” 

“ That’s what I think, and that’s what makes me 
mad when I think about it. That, as I just said, was 
my first visit to Chicago, and I have told you what hap¬ 
pened to me the last time I went there; so you see I 
have no particular reason to like it, and every reason to 
hate it. ” 

“ It isn’t likely that a third mishap would befall 
you, ” laughed Mr. Prescott, ” if you should venture 
there again. ” 


i88 


THE RED PLUME 


“ It would be just my luck to step upon some stray 
bombshell, and set it off by the friction of my foot, or 
else have some scallawag put an infernal machine in my 
pocket to blow me sky-high.” 

The story of the Captain, and his comments, were 
thoroughly enjoyed by the listening fugitives. It is 
not to be supposed that Augustus Adolphus Pipkins 
would have permitted this attack upon the city of his 
adoption to have passed without a characteristic de¬ 
fence, had it not been that he was sound asleep—his 
head in the bottom of the boat, while his feet were 
resting upon the gunwale, and his fireless meerschaum, 
with its stem in his mouth, was resting upon his 
shirt front, upon which it had spilled the most of its 
contents of tobacco and ashes. 

The great forte of the young man seemed to consist 
in dress, smoking, and sleep. To keep the flies from an¬ 
noying him, he had tipped his hat down over his eyes 
and nose, and in this picturesque situation he was al¬ 
lowed to sleep in peace, while the conversation went on 
around him. 

“ Get off my feet! ” called out Dinah, giving her 
hopeful a thwack on the side of the head that sent him 
backward on the stomach of Pipkins, awaking the lat¬ 
ter gentleman rather more suddenly than was pleasant. 

“ What the blazes is the matter?” he demanded, 
shoving the negro from it. “ What the deuce you sit¬ 
ting down on me for? ” 

“She done it, ” Cato hastened to reply, pointing to 


THE RED PLUME 189 

the indignant cook, who looked as if she would very 
much like to do it again. 

“ Is she your parent? ” asked Pipkins, as he righted 
himself, and took the sitting position, “ Your honored 
parent ? " 

“ No—she's my mommy. ” 

“ Please present my compliments to your distin¬ 
guished mommy , and request her hereafter not to drop 
you upon my stomach. It wouldn't be so bad if there 
was anything in it; but not having tasted any food for 
something less than a week, you will see there is danger 
of collapsing my internal machinery. ” 

The negro stared at the speaker in a way which 
showed he had not the remotest idea of what was 
meant. Dinah had been shifting her position further 
to one side, at the imminent risk of upsetting the boat. 

“ Hold on! " called out Pipkins, as he found his side 
gradually rising out of the water; “ this boat doesn't 
seem built to travel on one side." 

“ Who you talkin' 'bout ? " demanded Dinah, indig¬ 
nantly. 

“If you’d only be kind enough to anchor in the 
centre of the vessel, we would have but the single 
danger of the bottom going through. As it is, we have 
the additional danger of capsizing. " 

“ Ef you’d only talk 'Merican, folks might 'stand 
wat yer's drivin' at, " and the irate cook shrugged her 
shoulders, and turned, as far as she could, her broad 
back toward the exquisite, and all the party smiled. 


190 


THE RED PLUME 


Pipkins looked about him—first at the inmates of the 
boat, and then at the surroundings. In the forward 
part sat Mrs. Prescott, with Edith’s head resting upon 
her shoulder, and near her was Lillian, with her head 
upon the breast of her father. The family were re¬ 
united again! 

A fearful peril had impended, and was still impend¬ 
ing, over their heads; but the great danger had passed, 
and all were more thankful than words could express 
to the kind Providence that had indeed brought them 
through all in such a wonderful manner. 

Near the centre of the boat sat Dinah, she having 
hitched along until the vessel had righted, while her 
baby was sitting at her feet, within “ striking ” dis¬ 
tance. 

Between the parties mentioned Pipkins had stationed 
himself, in the genuine American attitude, with his feet 
higher than his head, when he was roused in the man¬ 
ner mentioned. 

In the rear were Captain Swarthausen, Fielding and 
Muggins, the first skillfully guiding the boat, while 
the latter sat sad and silent, no doubt reflecting upon 
her who was sleeping her last sleep in the quiet and 
solemnity of the summer woods. Such meditations we 
have not the right to intrude upon, and with a sigh of 
sympathy we leave him to his reveries. 

The boat was large, and there was ample room for 
all. A fine cool breeze was blowing, and were it not for 


THE RED PLUME 


191 

the horrible fear that threatened them, and for 
the physical discomfort of hunger which each felt, the 
ride could not have been more pleasant. 

Looking beyond the confines of the boat, Pipkins 
saw that as they descended the stream it rapidly wid¬ 
ened. Brooks and creeks were continually pouring 
into it, until its volume must have more than doubled 
in the space of half a dozen miles. 

The shores continued deeply wooded, and at this 
time of the year no scene could have been more en¬ 
chanting. There were occasional open places, covered 
with rank green grass, which seemed to be the doors to 
the vast prairies beyond. Plere and there, faintly out¬ 
lined against the hazy sky, could be seen the blue moun¬ 
tain peaks, some of them in the far distance, looking 
like conical clouds resting stationary in the summer at¬ 
mosphere. 

It was hard to realize that this was a “ land of 
death ”—that the green woods and the plains beyond 
contained human beings fiercer than the panther, and 
more merciless than the tiger as it laps the blood of its 
victim—that the fields, while with harvest, were tram¬ 
pled by the infuriated Sioux as they shot and murdered 
the inoffensive settlers, and that at that very moment 
there was wailing and mourning through the land, and 
cries were uttered for mercy, when there was no mercy 
to give. 

But so it was; for the ten thousandth time since the 
colonization of this country the wild Indian, with toma- 


192 


THE RED PLUME 


hawk and torch in hand, was raging through the settle¬ 
ment, visiting upon the innocent a terrible retribution 
for the sins of the guilty. 

Fully two hours had now passed without a sign of 
danger. 

Most of this time old Jud and his canoe were in¬ 
visible. Now and then he would be detected stealing 
along under the shore like some strange inhabitant of 
the deep that was feeling his way back to the sea, and 
then he sped directly down the centre of the channel, 
as if courting observation from any who might be 
along the shore; but all the time he maintained the 
same distance in advance—the meaning of which was 
that the river ahead gave no sign of danger. 

But where was Red Plume ? 

This was the question which had been asked re¬ 
peatedly, and which no one in the party dare undertake 
to answer with any degree of certainty. The contin¬ 
ued absence of the Sioux gave them all the liberty to 
draw the breath of relief; but, as yet, no one thought of 
absolute safety. 

“ Suppose that aboriginal American has had his 
skull perforated with a bullet by some of his own race,” 
remarked Pipkins, as the sail-boat skimmed swiftly 
down the river; “ under such circumstances it is hardly 
to be expected that he will be able to ‘ paddle his own 
canoe.’ ” 

The great fear that was upon all had been hit by the 


THE RED PLUME 


93 


exquisite in his own peculiar style, but it touched every 
one. 

“ Just what I was thinking about,” called out Pres ¬ 
cott from the front of the boat. “ It would be terrible 
if such were the case.” 

“ It would be the phenomenon of the age if such 
were the case,” replied Captain Swarthausen, speaking 
with more confidence than he really felt, but still with a 
sort of general belief of what he said. “ He is too great 
a veteran in the business to be caught in such a mishap 
as that.” 

“ But accidents will happen,” was the erudite obser¬ 
vation of Pipkins. “ I can recall one or two occasions 
where there is some reason to fear I committed a blun¬ 
der. Red Plume, I believe, is the name he plumes him¬ 
self upon,” he added with a triumphant smile, as he 
looked about to see that his diluted pun was appreci¬ 
ated. “ Red Plume no doubt is as skillful and as wide¬ 
awake as—myself; but who will pretend that he is ex¬ 
empt from accident? If he is, I will try to insure him 
in our General Accident Company, for it will be a good 
thing for Blifkins and the rest of ’em, and perhaps for 
me also.” 

“ I don’t believe it,” stoutly asserted Captain Swart¬ 
hausen, as he shied the boat toward the centre of the 
stream. “ We are all liable to mishaps, but I do not 
consider it possible that any such thing should happen 
to him.” 

Pipkins became quite earnest and rose to the stand¬ 
ing position. He then braced himself and spread out 


194 


THE RED PLUME 


his arms like an orator, and might have looked like one 
had he not persisted in keeping his pipe between his 
teeth. 

“ You understand, in a matter like this, you must 
look at both sides of the question, and looking at it 
thus—” 

At this juncture Augustus Pipkins suddenly turned 
a summerset, fetching up among the Prescott family 
in the bow, but for whom he would have gone over¬ 
board. At the same instant Captain Swarthausen 
sprang up and lowered the sail. The truth was that the 
boat had run upon a bar in the river, checking it so sud¬ 
denly that a man standing up could scarcely have 
avoided what really happened to the speaker. 

The latter, however, was of such a slight build that 
he was scarcely injured in the least, but hastily scram¬ 
bled to his feet. 

“ Thunderation! Til bet five to one my pipe is burst. 
No it isn’t, either,” he added, the next instant, as he 
turned it over in his hand. “ But I say, Captain 
Swarthausen, didn’t the anchor catch rather sudden 
like?” 

“ Sh’d think it did! ” groaned Dinah, who had tipped 
over upon Cato, and had to be assisted back again on 
her seat. “ Never got so shuck up in my life. A little 
more and it would’ve been the last of poor Dinah.” 

“ A little more and it would have been the last of us 
all,” observed Pipkins, as he carefully brushed the dust 
from his hat. “ If you had gone rolling through the 


THE RED PLUME 


x 95 


boat it would have been like an elephant turning sum¬ 
mersets.” 

“ You’d better shet up,” retorted the cook; if you 
don’t I’ll fetch you a whack dat’ll send dem ar’ pipe- 
stem legs of yourn higher in de air dan dey went 
afore.” 

“ I apologize for my rudeness,” said Pipkins, raising 
his hat over his head with an exceedingly polite bow. 

But the boat was fast; and while this nonsensical 
badinage was going on, Captain Swarthausen and 
Prescott were seeking what was necessary to get it off 
again. It was running so fast at the time of the occur¬ 
rence that it was stuck immovably, so long as its freight 
remained the same. 

However, in so small a structure, it was evident that 
there was no great difficulty to be overcome. A shifting 
of the passengers from the bow to the stern, or perhaps 
the disembarking of one or two, for a few moments, 
was all that could be required. 

Old Jud was out of sight at the time of the accident, 
so that they were without his advice or assistance. 

The first effort was made by shifting all to the rear 
of the boat, and then pushing with might and main 
with the paddle. But this failed. 

“ We men will have to get out and put our shoulders 
against it,” said Prescott. 

“ I can suggest a far better plan—an admirable one, 
in fact ”—said Pipkins, as the others made ready to act 
upon this suggestion. 


ig6 


THE RED PLUME 


All listened. 

“ Our joint weight is about equal to that of this sable 
angel in the centre; so, instead of a half dozen or so 
getting out, why not let one do it, and answer for all ? ” 

“ How are we going to get her back again ? ” asked 
Prescott. 

“ A sensible question, and one that is unanswerable. 
I give it up. But Cato here is barefooted (and I think 
it would ruin any man to furnish the leather for those 
gunboats, unless he did it by contract). Let him make 
a beginning.” 

“ My baby shan’t do no such thing—” 

But a word from Prescott was sufficient; and Cato, 
being nothing loth to display his agility, rolled up his 
trousers and leaped lightly over the gunwale into the 
hard earth upon which they were fast. 

Then our friends again took their places in the stern, 
the African applied his shoulder, and the bow was 
fairly lifted clear. Springing back into the boat, the sail 
was hoisted and they proceeded hopefully upon their 
journey. 

Pipkins looked longingly down stream. 

“ I wonder whether that pilot of ours ever becomes 
sensible to such a thing as hunger. Pve heard of people 
who would as lief go a week without eating as not, but 
I suppose it depends a good deal how a man is brought 
up. I haven’t trained for that kind of business, and it 
goes rather tough with me.” 


THE RED PLUME 


197 


“ I think he will make a halt at noon,” remarked 
Captain Swarthausen. 

“ Why do you think so ? ” 

“ If I ain’t mistaken, he made some such intimation 
just before we started this morning. 

Prescott inclined to think he had heard something 
like it from the scout, and so they took comfort in the 
thought. 

The hopes and fears of all were awakened by the 
sight of the scout rowing cautiously back toward them. 
Fearful that something was wrong, Captain Swart¬ 
hausen lowered the sail, and slackened the speed as 
much as was possible, without coming to a dead stand¬ 
still. 

In a moment Jud was alongside. 

“ Do any of you feel hungry ? ” he asked, with a 
manner of perfect simplicity. 

There was no ambiguity in the reply, and he has¬ 
tened to say: 

“ A half mile down the river is an island; we’ll stop 
there and have dinner.” 

And without another word he shot ahead again. 

“ Wonder how he’s gwine to gib us dinner,” grunted 
Dinah, “ when he haint got nuffin to gib us dinner 
wid.” 

“ There is probably a hotel down on the island, kept 
on the European plan,” replied Pipkins; “ or I should 
think the native American plan would be the thing in 

these parts.” 


198 


THE RED PLUME 


“ He must be intending to take a little hunt for 
game.” 

“ Or for fish,” suggested Prescott. “ At any rate, we 
can make up our minds that he wouldn’t invite us to 
dinner unless he had some means of providing it.” 

Shortly after, as they rounded another bend in the 
river, they caught sight of the island—an oval in shape, 
a few hundred yards in length, and a rod or two in 
width. The stream sensibly widened at this point, so 
that there was a goodly breadth of water upon both 
sides. 

The island was sparsely covered with trees and vege¬ 
tation, and would have been the objective point of any 
excursion party of the neighborhood, so that the most 
pleasant prospect was before the party, whose eyes 
were strained toward the little gem upon the river. 

The cravings of nature will tempt a man to brave 
any danger, and so intent were the fugitives upon satis¬ 
fying the demands of hunger that not a look was cast 
behind to see whether they were free from danger. 

However, in this instance it made no difference, for 
had they looked with all their eyes they would have 
seen nothing to justify the slightest alarm. 

They were yet some distance from the upper end, 
v/hen Pipkins began to snuff the air, turning his head 
from side to side, with a very knowing look. 

“ I tell you what, I smell something cooking,” he 
said, while his eyes sparkled. “ There’s mischief or 
fish brewing.” 


THE RED PLUME 


199 


Several smiled, believing the speaker was only jest¬ 
ing fish was wafted to them, and not all the odors from 
ing; but a moment later the unmistakable odor of cook- 
“Araby the blest ” could have imparted the pleasure 
that this gave. 

There is something peculiarly appetizing in the odor 
of fish, as distinguished from other food, and it al¬ 
most maddened the half-famished fugitives as it be¬ 
came more decided, with every fot they advanced 
nearer the island. 

“ If you have any bowels of compassion,” said Pip¬ 
kins, turning toward Captain Swarthausen, “ you will 
not slacken up gradually, but go ahead as fast as you 
can, until you can’t go any further, and then stop right 
short.” 

But the old veteran had learned prudence, and prob¬ 
ably believing Pipkins had received enough of “ stop¬ 
ping short,” he rounded-to with the cleverness of an ex¬ 
perienced navigator, with the boat just resting upon 
the hard yellow sand of the island, and the party 
stepped upon terra Urnia, dry shod. 

As yet, they had seen nothing of old Jud; but never 
once did they lose the insidious, delicious odor that 
filled the air. 

“ If that is carried off over the land for any distance, 
it will wake up every man in the woods, and fetch him 
this way, bareheaded, on a full run, with his plate be¬ 
fore him, yelling for something to eat.” 


200 


THE RED PLUME 


As may be supposed, Pipkins was at the head, plung¬ 
ing forward like mad, and calling upon the others to 
follow him. 

They were not slow in doing so, for as the magnet 
draws steel, so did the odor draw them irresistibly 
toward it. 

A few rods through the wood and undergrowth and 
they came upon a small fire, over which Jud Judkins 
was leaning, with several goodly-sized fish opened and 
impaled upon the prongs of a stick. 

And beside him, piled upon some large, clean green 
leaves, what did the furiously hungry party see? 

A great cone of the choicest fish, cooked to the per¬ 
fection of crumbling brownness, with the clear white 
gleaming through, and the luscious plumpness such as 
to tempt the daintiest epicure. 

There was enough for all, proving that the hunter 
had prepared some of his food before he turned about 
and sped up stream to notify the fugitives that an early 
dinner would be furnished them at this point. 

And such a meal—so rich, so delicate, so delicious, so 
abundant! Never was a dinner more thoroughly en¬ 
joyed, and never was a party more benefited by the 
breaking of their long-enforced fast. 

When Augustus Pipkins had eaten until he could eat 
no more, and then had filled his meerschaum, and 
touched it off with a match, he expressed himself as 
“ happy.” After awhile he became more mellow, and 


THE RED PLUME 


201 


affirmed that the special service that Jubal Judkins had 
rendered the entire party deserved some recognition at 
their hands. 

“ I am undecided as to what it shall be,” said he, as 
he stood in the centre of the group, with his pipe in his 
mouth, and his hat in his hand, as though he were pre¬ 
paring to make a stump speech. 

“ I thought first of presenting him with a handsome 
sword—” 

“ What in the name of sense would he do with such 
a weapon ? ” demanded Captain Swarthausen, with a 
laugh. 

“ That’s the question I have often asked myself when 
I have heard of your sword piesentations in the army, 
and I finally gave it up, and thought of a gold medal; 
but the objection to that is that it costs too much.” 

“ Give him a gun or a brace of revolvers, or some¬ 
thing like that,” said Prescott, “ and he will appreciate 
it—that is, if you can get him to accept it.” 

“ A very good idea, but these things are deuced ex¬ 
pensive,” said the exquisite. “ I had determined that 
the first handsome silver-mounted revolver I could buy 
should be presented by Augustus Adolphus Pipkins, 
unless some one should be thoughtful enough to present 
him with one before I can do so.” 

“ As soon as we reach a place of safety, then,” said 
the Captain, ‘die shall have as fine a brace of pistols as 
can be found.” 

“ And when I get back to the office I will draw up a 


202 


THE RED PLUME 


set of resolutions, in my best style—that whereas, Mr. 
Jubal Judkins has, etc., etc., therefore be it resolved 
that the thanks of the undersigned are due, and are 
hereby tendered, etc.” 

In the meantime, the subject of this discussion was 
occupied in passing around the outer edge of the island, 
in accordance with his usual cautious manner, and he 
had no suspicion of what was going on in his absence. 

But a half hour later he made his appearance among 
the group, with the announcement that Red Plume was 
coming down the river, with a haste which betokened 
important tidings upon his part. 


CHAPTER XXI 


love’s longings 

Never until now had Lillian Prescott realized how 
deeply and truly she loved George Havens. 

The handsome young officer had interested her at 
first sight, as any prepossessing young man will interest 
a young woman when brought in contact with her; but 
that interest had grown into a fervent affection such as 
she had never suspected, until it was brought home to 
her so vividly by her late experience. 

She remembered their first moonlight sail upon 
Sleeping Water, and the walks and conversations they 
had had upon the smooth shore of the lake; she recalled 
the embarrassment he so frequently displayed in her 
presence; his hesitating words, his awkward manner, 
and his sudden flushing in the face, when she looked in 
his countenance in her careless way; his broken sen¬ 
tences, when he sometimes attempted a compliment— 
his chivalrous devotion to her, which seemed ever 
longing for some opportunity to prove its sincerity, and 
the undisguised delight he manifested at the slightest 
acknowledgment she made of his devotion. 

Then she fell to musing upon himself. His modesty 
prevented her learning more than a very little of him 
203 


204 


THE RED PLUME 


through his words; but his uncle, who was justly proud 
of him, was by no means so reticent. 

She had heard him discourse upon his bravery, his 
magnanimity, his attainments and skill in his profes¬ 
sion, and the brilliant future which seemed opening be¬ 
fore him. It was his nephew who graduated the first 
in his class at the Military Academy, and it was he who 
had immediately entered the service as Colonel, and 
had already attracted the attention of the authorities 
above him. 

“ I am a captain in the regular army,” said the old 
officer, “ and I have been thirty years and more reach¬ 
ing it, and it is an honorable position, if I do say it my¬ 
self. There are few who came from West Point when 
I did who have lived to claim the title of captain, and I 
can go in as a general of volunteers whenever I am 
ready to accept the commission; but if George lives to 
see a half dozen years, he will be out of sight of me. 
That you may depend on.” 

Many a girl would have been glad of the love of such 
a man as Colonel Havens, and more than once Lillian 
became conscious of a certain pleasure in the admira¬ 
tion of the young officer. 

He was manly and chivalrous—one of those lords of 
creation upon whom a woman can lean for protection, 
as the weaker does upon the stronger. 

Pipkins was a butterfly, a plaything, who was amus¬ 
ing, as a parrot would have been under similar circum¬ 
stances. 


THE RED PLUME 


205 


Colonel Havens was thoroughly brave, while cousin 
Pipkins had only read of such traits, and knew nothing 
of them from experience. 

Indeed, there was no way in which she could com¬ 
pare or contrast these two without manifestly to the ad¬ 
vantage of the former. 

And yet each looked upon the other as a rival, when 
such a thing was impossible. It was true that she and 
Edith entertained a friendship for their cousin, and 
were glad of his coming, but had he been “ the last man 
on earth,” neither could have brought herself to love 
him. 

Ah! what would Lillian not have given could she but 
recall the last few hours ? Why did she treat him with 
such indifference when her whole heart warmed toward 
him? Why did she not call to him in a voice which 
would not have failed to bring him to her side again? 
Why did she allow him to go, and carry away the mis¬ 
understanding, when a word or look from her would 
have dissipated every cloud ? 

Then she recalled, with a sinking heart, the assertion 
of Captain Swarthausen, that Colonel Havens would 
remain at Fort Grandon but a short time. 

“ Such men are needed too much elsewhere,” said he, 
“ where there is harder work and more danger to en¬ 
counter.” 

How probable that she would never see him again! 
What more likely than that he would go down to the 
grave all unconscious of the great love she bore for 


20 6 


THE RED PLUME 


him ? And then, how miserable the fate awaiting her! 

So long as father and mother remained in peril, they 
received the first thoughts and prayers of Lillian Pres¬ 
cott; and when Heaven kindly brought parents and 
children together, her joy was so great that she was 
sure she could never be unhappy. 

But when the journey was begun down the river, and 
she sat with her head upon her dear father’s shoulder, 
and the frightful peril grew faint and fainter with each 
passing moment, then it was that her meditations took 
the turn we have attempted to outline, and the joyous 
exhilaration of spirits sank, until it really seemed as if 
her heart would break. 

For a time the tears coursed silently down her 
cheeks, and her parents believed them the tears of joy; 
and then, as she mastered her feelings somewhat, some¬ 
thing akin to despair settled upon her. 

When the party disembarked upon the island, she did 
so mechanically, and almost unconscious of what she 
was doing. She ate, as did the rest, for she was weak 
and needed nourishment for the body. 

There was but one in the entire company who sus¬ 
pected her secret, and she was her sister, the noble 
Edith. 

As soon after the conclusion of the meal as it could 
be done, she drew Lillian away from the others, in the 
hope of cheering her in her sadness. 

“ There was a coldness when you parted,” said the 
elder, “ and he was offended at some triviality upon 


THE RED PLUME 


2 07 


your part, for I know you could not do anything of a 
serious character to offend him.” 

“ Why did I treat him so rudely ? ” exclaimed 
Lillian, covering her face with her hands, and giving 
vent to her pent-up grief. “ He did not deserve it.” 

“ Did he say he would never see you again ? ” 

“ No.” 

“ Then he certainly will, if his life is spared; and I 
do not know as it would make any difference if he de¬ 
clared the other way.” 

“ But I may never see him again? ” 

“ Does it look less likely than it did yesterday that 
we should ever meet father and mother again ? ” 

“ But something tells me I shall not.” 

“ Nothing but Omniscience can tell you that.” 

“ I do not deserve it,” said the stricken girl. “ I had 
no business to treat him as I did. He ought not to 
speak to me again.” 

“ That is one of the strongest reasons in the world 
why he will do so. I do not deny that you have trifled 
with him, and acted wrongfully; but cheer up, dearest 
sister, the future will make it all right.” 

“ Do you believe he loves me? ” asked Lillian, with 
the earnest gaze of a culprit who was about to hear the 
words that were to decide his fate. 

Edith laughed. 

“ I told you so months ago. Do you think I would 
have said it unless I knew it to be true? ” 

“ But do you think he does now ? ” 


208 


THE RED PLUME 


“ I am sure of it.” 

“ I hope so,” added Lillian, with more cheerfulness 
in her manner; “ but I cannot be sure of it.” 

“ Try and dismiss it from your mind, for I cannot 
bear to see you so sad. Let us return, or our continued 
absence will excite apprehension.” 

Lillian walked toward the camp-fire, where she could 
hear the merry voices of those who were congregated, 
and who, to her mind, seemed forgetful that death had 
been so recently among them, or that they were still 
liable at any moment to his coming. 

They had walked but a few steps, when she suddenly 
felt Edith’s hand tremble in her own, as she started 
and exclaimed: 

“ There he comes! ” 

Lillian started and looked up, and saw, not Havens, 
but Fielding! 

And she smiled, for in that moment of woe did she 
not penetrate the secret of her own dear sister ? ” 

The discovery gave her pleasure, and freeing her 
arm from that of Edith, she walked away with a lighter 
heart than she had borne for many an hour. 

It looked accidental—this meeting between Edith 
and the Friend. The latter seemed to be wandering 
about the island in the most natural manner, and the 
blush upon his unmistakably handsome face perhaps 
was caused by the unexpected meeting. 

It was somewhat singular that Edith, always so self- 
possessed, showed something of the same confusion in 


THE RED PLUME 


209 


her manner, and replied to the matter-of-fact observa¬ 
tions of Fielding in an abrupt way, that provoked her 
at her own awkwardness. 

Unconsciously, perhaps, Edith’s footsteps diverged 
from the direction she was pursuing at first, and the 
two strolled further and further away from the camp, 
until they were at the lowermost extremity of the 
island, where they paused, and conversed in tones so 
low that no ears but those for which the words were in¬ 
tended heard them. 

Then they wandered slowly back again, as closely to¬ 
gether as they could walk, and it seemed for a time that 
it would be night before they could reach their friends. 

Ah! noble Edith Prescott, in watching the affections 
of thy sister, hast thou not lost thine own ? ” 


CHAPTER XXII 


ON THE ISLAND 

The return of Edith Prescott and Fielding to the 
camp of their friends was simultaneous with the reap¬ 
pearance of Red Plume. 

The latter exchanged a few words with Jud, who 
burst out into uproarious laughter, while the rest 
looked on as if they did not comprehend what it all 
meant. 

“ You may as well laugh,” said the hunter, turning 
to them; “ for them Sioux ain’t goin’ to disturb us very 
soon.” 

“ Why not ? ” inquired Captain Swarthausen. 

“ Whiskey!” 

And, overcome at the absurdity of the picture the 
friendly Indian had given him, Jud laughed more 
heartily than ever. 

It was several minutes before the fugitives compre¬ 
hended what had really taken place, and then, as may 
readily be supposed, there was not a little wonder and 
pleasure expressed at this providential diversion of 
their enemies. 

“ It is just the luckiest thing I ever heard tell on,” 
said Jud, who seemed to feel a childish delight at the 
210 


THE RED PLUME 


211 


occurrence. “ Red Plume and me just made up our 
minds this mornin’ that there wasn’t more than one or 
two of this party that was ever going to get out of this 
scrape alive.” 

“ My God! was it as bad as that! ” exclaimed Pres¬ 
cott, turning pale at the thought of what they had es¬ 
caped. 

“ It was just that,” replied Jud, with compressed lips. 
“ What’s to save you if they come down the river after 
us, as we expected they would? We would have had to 
make a fight for it, and in a scrimmage such as that it 
is easy enough to tell how it would have ended.” 

“ Then we ought to get down on our knees and 
thank God!” said Prescott, and all, including the 
swarthy Sioux, sank upon their knees, and silently re¬ 
turned thanks to Him who had brought them thus far, 
as He had guided the children of Israel through the 
wilderness. 

But there was none so ignorant or credulous as to 
believe that they were yet safe. They were many miles 
from Fort Grandon, the nearest point at which they 
could feel any immunity from the treacherous Sioux 
that had now taken the war-path, and seemed actuated 
by the spirit of demons incarnate as they raged over the 
settlements of Minnesota. 

“ Where did they get their whiskey ? ” inquired 
Presott. 

“ It must have been in the house,” replied Captain 
Swarthausen. 


212 


THE RED PLUME 


“ Dar wan’t a drop dar,” replied Dinah, “’cept a little 
in a bottle dat I kept fur de rheumatiz, and I give Cato 
de last drop ob dat fur de colic dat he said he got last 
night from bein’ ’sposed to de night air too long.” 

“ Yes; he looks as if he was very liable to the colic,” 
remarked Pipkins, surveying the buxom youngster 
from head to foot. “ I think any man that stuffs like 
him would be apt to die with the worst kind of colic.” 

“ Even if we had had spirituous liquors in the 
house,” replied Prescott, in answer to the remark of 
Captain Swarthausen, “ it would have been destroyed 
before they could have lain hands upon it.” 

“ Didst thou say that thou kept no liquor in thy 
house? ” inquired Fielding. 

“ Not unless it was as Dinah has said.” 

“ Very frequently have I detected the odor of it when 
Elijah came near me.” 

“ And so have I,” added Muggins,^speaking for the 
first time in a long while. V 

“ Golly! dat feller used to get drunk as a cow,” said 
Cato; “ hain’t I seed ’em stagger and tumble ober de 
logs ? ” 

“ Where did he get it? ” 

“ I neber could find out; I tried to watch him once, 
and he hit me ober de head wid a log, and I took de 
hint and left.” 

“ In what form was it? ” inquired Prescott, turning 
toward Jud. 


THE RED PLUME 


213 


“Pappose barrel replied Red Plume, who was un¬ 
derstood to mean a keg. 

“ That explains a mystery,” added Prescott. “ A 
month or two ago I sent Lige down the river to meet 
the steamboat for a keg of choice Bourbon that I had 
ordered from St. Paul, and he came back with the ex¬ 
cuse that it had been lost off the boat. I thought it was 
strange, but I did not suspect him.” 

“ He was the guilty one.” 

“ I see how he has hid it, and has now brought it 
forth to conciliate the Sioux; and it has done us a far 
greater service than he imagined.” 

“ Didst thou see aught of Pomp? ” inquired Field¬ 
ing, putting the question directly to Red Plume. 

“ He dead,” was the instant reply. 

Humble as had been the individual, this sudden an¬ 
nouncement of his death caused a shock upon the part 
of all. It was a vivid reminder of the fiendish disposi¬ 
tion of the redskins, and of their malignant cruelty, 
which made no distinction between the innocent and 
guilty. 

Fielding was seen to turn away his head, and all re¬ 
spected him the more when they saw him brush the 
moisture from his eyes. 

Two of the party had already fallen victims to the 
Sioux, and a third was in their hands—although the 
latter individual was not of much account, no matter 
where he was placed, and indeed the whites were 
rather relieved at his absence than otherwise. 


214 


THE RED PLUME 


Neither Red Plume nor Jud had seen anything of 
danger, either above or below the river, and it was con¬ 
cluded to remain where they were until nightfall, or 
perhaps until next morning. 

This delay would give the party the rest which they 
so much needed, and would not, so far as they could 
see, compromise their safety. If they could manage to 
strike the other river at such a time as to intercept the 
steamboat, they might be rescued without going near as 
far as Fort Grandon. 

But this proposal had met with a decided refusal 
from both the scouts—Jud giving as a reason, that in 
all probability the steamer would not run so far up as 
the river until the troubles were ended, and they would 
have their journey for nothing, while there was every 
probability of their being drawn into greater peril by 
this diversion from their course. 

It was agreed, therefore, to keep on down the river 
for thirty or forty miles, until they reached Fort Gran¬ 
don. This course necessitated no disappointment, un¬ 
less it should occur before they reached there, but they 
fully understood the point for which they were aiming. 

As soon as it was decided to spend the day and night 
where they were, preparations were made to pass the 
time as agreeably as possible. 

The first consideration, in the eyes of the scouts, was 
to make the sail-boat, which was now moored at the 
upper end of the island, invisible. This told its story 


THE RED PLUME 


rather too plainly to be left in open view to whatever 
Indians might be wandering through the country. 

As there was no means at hand effectually to conceal 
it, Jud took it over to the other shore, towing it behind 
his own canoe. Here, by lowering the mast, he man¬ 
aged to draw it under the bank, where the undergrowth 
was particularly luxuriant, and to secure it in such a 
manner that there was scarcely a possibility of its being 
seen by any one going up or down the river, or even 
upon the bank, unless accident should direct his steps 
to the very spot where it nestled in the green and exu¬ 
berant vegetation. 

As there were some indications of a storm in the sky, 
those on shore employed themselves in preparing, as 
best they could, a shelter for the females. With the aid 
of the sail and several blankets, a sort of tent was put 
together, which was deemed sufficient to protect them 
against any storm which would be likely to rise during 
the night. 

“ As for ourselves,” said Captain Swarthausen, re¬ 
ferring to the male members of the party, “ we must 
take it in the open air.” 

“ The night is quite mild, and the shrubbery is dense 
enough overhead to keep off any superfluous moisture,” 
replied Prescott. 

“ Such nights as these are the delight of a soldier, 
and often enough we have slept out of doors, when 
there were no trees to keep off the driving snow, and 


2 l 6 


THE RED PLUME 


scarcely a blanket to protect us from it, upon the 
ground.” 

“ That’s what I call carrying picnicking to an ex¬ 
treme,” observed Pipkins, as he languidly puffed his 
meerschaum. “ Such exposure is apt to give a man cold 
and make him anxious for the comforts of home.” 

“ Yes; one night like that would be the end of you,” 
replied Captain Swarthausen, as he surveyed the femi¬ 
nine specimen of a man before him. “ I don’t think you 
could ever become used to it.” 

“ That’s the reason why I have never tried,” was the 
contented answer. 

The rest upon the island was a most refreshing one 
to the entire band of fugitives. They had all been sub¬ 
jected to such toil and trial that, with a feeling of even 
temporary safety, came a reaction, and there was not 
one who did not need sleep. 

While the different ones disposed of themselves as 
fancy dictated, Jud and Red Plume made a tour of the 
island. The former had told his friends to sleep while 
they had the opportunity, and he would alternate with 
the Sioux during the night, provided it looked safe to 
do so. 

Veteran scouts as these two men were, and similar as 
were their tastes and judgments, a casual observer 
would have seen at once that there was some point of 
difference between them. Their views were dissimilar 
upon some point which concerned the safety of the 
company. 


THE RED PLUME 


217 


It was apparently a slight difference; but, when the 
consequences of a mistake in the wrong direction are 
considered, it will be seen how vitally it concerned our 
friends, who, in all their dreamings, did not dream of 
any such thing entering the heads of their guardians. 

Red Plume believed that they were still in danger 
from the Sioux along the lake. True, there was not a 
strong probability of these drunken savages starting 
in pursuit of an enemy just then; but it was probable 
that they would be in a condition to do so by nightfall, 
for the simple reason that their whiskey could not hold 
out much longer; and after a debauch of this kind they 
would be in as vindictive and merciless a temper as it is 
possible for a degraded redskin to be. 

Old Jud saw no danger at all. If the Sioux should 
regain enough of their senses to be able to pursue them, 
they would regain enough sense, also, to see the useless¬ 
ness of it, when there would be every reason to believe 
that the whites were far byond their reach, even before 
they could start after them. 

The dusky scout was not given to argument, and 
when he found how opinionated his white companion 
was, he ceased to dispute, and signified his acquies¬ 
cence in his views; but Jud saw plainly enough that it 
was one of those things which was done purely for 
peace sake. 

This conclusion was hardly reached when Red 
Plume pointed to the eastern shore, a short distance up 


THE RED PLUME 


218 

stream, uttering an exclamation of displeasure at the 
same time. 

That which he saw was the same sign that met the 
eye of the Otter and Colonel Havens in ascending the 
stream the day before—that is, the smoke of a camp¬ 
fire ascending through the tops of the trees. 

“Dar In jin,” remarked Red Plume, in his broken 
English. 

"Yes, and there, too,” replied the scout, pointing^ 
down the river, but on the opposite side, where a simi¬ 
lar sight was observed. 

This, then, was proof that they were in a neighbor¬ 
hood of great danger, and it looked as though it was 
a prudent thing to halt when and where they did. 

Old Jud looked significantly toward his dusky 
friend, and smiled, but that stolid face was as inex¬ 
pressive as a stone, and gave no indication of what 
were the thoughts of the Indian. 

If the night was to be spent here, it was necessary 
that some provision should be made, as only frag¬ 
ments of the fishes remained. There was no good place 
in the immediate vicinity of the island to fish, so Jud 
entered his canoe, and pulled for the other shore, where 
he had met with such abundant good fortune during 
the afternoon. 

This left Red Plume with the duty of watching and 
protecting the entire island; but he felt fully competent 
to do so, at least during the day, when he was able to 
scan every approach with his eagle eye, and communi- 


THE RED PLUME 


219 


cate with Jud, who was within easy signalling dis¬ 
tance. 

The sky, by this time, was overcast with clouds, and 
there was every appearance of an approaching storm. 
Faint rumbling thunder was heard in the distance, ac¬ 
companied by occasional flashes of lightning, and a 
cool wind swayed the forest trees, and wrinkled the 
surface of the river. 

The storm, however, passed off to the northward, 
only a few drops falling upon the island, while it 
raged, with great fierceness a few miles up the river. 

Old Jud saw a fortunate turn of affairs in this, as 
such a turmoil in the woods would be pretty certain to 
obliterate all signs of the trail which had been left along 
the margin of the lake, and compel the Sioux, in case 
they should think of pursuing, to go it blind more de¬ 
cidedly than ever. 

Any one who understood the nature of Red Plume 
would have seen, on the instant, that he was far from 
being satisfied with the shape matters had taken. He 
walked back and forth, in and out among the trees, first 
appearing at the upper and then at the lower end of the 
island, and scanning every portion of the shore that 
was visible. 

The long summer afternoon gradually wore away, 
and still every one of the fugitives slept soundly, show¬ 
ing how necessary, in one sense at least, it was that the 
rest should have been obtained for them. 

Just as the sun was setting, the canoe of Jud put out 


220 


THE RED PLUME 


in the river, and rapidly approached the island. As 
the scout drew his boat up the bank, he revealed a fine 
pile of fish which by some legerdemain, he had in¬ 
veigled from the water into the boat. 

About this time, also, there was a general awaking 
up of the party, and a universal sense of hunger among 
them all. 

Old Jud having given some hints to Dinah of the 
process by which he had prepared the fish, it was left 
to her, while the others busied themselves as they chose. 

Most of them took to wandering over the island, in 
the best of spirits, which were dampened, however, 
somewhat, by Jud stating to them that it was the wish 
of Red Plume that they should expose themselves as 
little as possible to view from the shore. 

When asked for an explanation of this request, he 
simply replied that it was the wish of the Sioux, who 
would not have made such a request unless there was 
reason for it, and the best thing they could do was to 
obey it. 

To several of the men, Jud explained that there were 
Indians at no great distance, and an unfortunate dis¬ 
closure of the presence of the whites upon the island 
would be very likely to bring on a collision. 

“Dat’s what I tink,” said Cato, who was listening, 
open- mouthed, to these words; “dar’s Injuns ’bout yer, 
’cause I seed ’em.” 

“ Where did you see them ? ” inquired Prescott, in 
no little surprise. 


THE RED PLUME 


221 


“ When I was down at de lower end de island; I 
was lookin’ ’bout; I seed ’leven Injuns in one boat a 
rowin’ ’cross de riber.” 

“ When?” 

“ ’Bout half an hour ago.” 

“ You were asleep then,” said Captain Swarthausen. 

The negro scratched his head, as if he were unde¬ 
cided regarding that matter. Finally, his face lit as 
he looked up. 

“ Dat be so; I dreamed it suah.” 

“ Shouldn’t wonder ef you seen it afore you see 
daylight agin,” remarked Jud, in a voice which 
showed he was in earnest. 

“Are there no settlements in this neighborhood ? ” 
inquired Fielding. 

“ There ain’t exactly what you call settlements,” he 
replied, “ but there are houses scattered here and there, 
and they’re the ones that be catching it. Them’s the 
kind of enemies the Sioux like to pounce down upon.” 

“ Suppose they should attack us upon the island, 
have we much chance of defending ourselves ? ” in¬ 
quired Prescott. 

“ If they don’t come too fast. You see they’d have 
to come over the water, while we’d have the shelter of 
the trees; and that’s just the way the redskins don’t 
like to have matters fixed.” 

“ They would not be likely to make an open at¬ 
tack?” . 


222 


THE RED PLUME 


“ Not as long as there was any other chance. You 
see how they worked it along the lake.” 

" There’s one thing certain,” laughed Captain 
Swarthausen, “ we ain’t as likely to be burned out as 
we were there.” 

“That is what I call fortunate,” remarked Pipkins; 
“ there’s only one danger that I foresee, in case the abo¬ 
rigines should find out we were picnicking here, and 
decide to molest us.” 

All looked inquiringly at the young man for his ex¬ 
planation of what he feared. 

“ Finding we have intrenched ourselves here, they 
may throw up a dam across the water above and shut 
the water off.” 

“ How will that benefit them? ” 

“ Then they can march upon us overland, just as 
your soldiers charge upon a fort or embankment.” 

Pipkins seemed so earnest in what he said, that more 
than one laughed, especially Captain Swarthausen, who 
declared that he was born for a general. 

“ That’s what I’ve been told before, and if it wasn’t 
for my confounded modesty I would have been a gen¬ 
eral by this time—hello!—hark! ” 

Every one started, for at that moment they heard the 
faint discharge of guns, as if two parties were encoun¬ 
tering each other. 

“ Is that up or down the river? ” asked Prescott. 

“ It’s off here,” replied the Captain, pointing to the 
right. 


THE RED PLUME 


223 


“ That’s up the river,” added Jud; “the way the 
stream winds round and round.” 

“ What’s the meaning of it? ” 

The scout shook his head. 

“ That’s more than I kin tell; I don’t know as I ever 
heerd them guns afore, else I might tell you who fired 
em. 

“ It confirms what you have said, at any rate, that 
the Sioux are on every side of us.” 

“ Do you think,” asked Captain Swarthausen, “ that 
it was our wisest plan to halt here for the night? ” 

Jud hesitated a moment before replying. 

“ I don’t know how to answer that ’ere question till 
we’ve got through this muss, and found out what we’ve 
had to go through. Red Plume, I may as well tell you, 
was opposed to our stayin’ here till morning.” 

“ Why so? ” 

“ Wall, it’s hard to tell; but I think he’s changed his 
mind, and concluded that it was the best thing we could 
do.” 

“ Is it better to go at night or daytime? ” 

“ From the way things look, it’s better to take the 
day for it. You see there’s enough moon to show the 
white sail to both sides the shore, and there would be 
some redskins that would be sure to see it.” 

“ Hardly as likely to do so, as during the day.” 

“ Just so; but in the day time we’d have a chance 
of seein’ where we was runnin’, and be ready to sar- 
cumvent any trick of the rascals.” 


224 


THE RED PLUME 


The conversation suddenly ceased, for the report of 
guns was again heard, and all listened with great inter¬ 
est. 

It was just growing dusk, and there was scarcely a 
breath of air stirring the leaves, so that a slight sound 
could be heard at a great distance, even when ob¬ 
structed by the woods. The plash of a small fish that 
sprang above the surface, at a long distance up stream, 
was heard as plainly as if it were within a rod or two 
of where they stood. 

Old Jud was of an opinion that the guns which they 
heard, were about a mile off, which was twice as far 
as any of the others had supposed. 

“ There be farm houses here and there,” he added, 
“ and there’s no tellin’ what this means. It may be 
some of the settlers fighting for their lives. I will see 
what Red Plume thinks of it.” 

He walked away, and when at the end of a few min¬ 
utes he returned, all noticed the serious expression of 
his countenance. 

“ The redskin says it comes from the varmints and 
settlers fightin’, and he b’leves they’ve found out we 
be here.” 

“Good heavens! what don’t they find out! ” ex¬ 
claimed Mr. Prescott, not a little alarmed at this as¬ 
tounding intelligence “Are we never to be safe?” 

“ Not as long as we stay in this outlandish country. 
I tell you, you folks don’t know what a general clean¬ 
ing out these infarnal varmints are making. Ef we 


THE RED PLUME 


225 


don’t get into Fort Grandon afore long, it’s my ’pin¬ 
ion we’ll never get there at all.” 

The altered manner of the scout impressed all, and 
threw quite a chill over the good feelings which had 
hitherto prevailed. 

“ Did Red Plume give his reason for thinking the 
heathen knew we were here? ” inquired Fielding. 

“ No; I s’pose he hasn’t got any partic’lar reason; 
but he’s been looking around powerful sharp since 
we’ve been here, and has come to his ’elusion on gen¬ 
eral principles, I think.” 

“ Then there is a possibility of his being mistaken? ” 
added the Friend. 

“ I s’pose he might be, but the safest way in a thing 
like this, is to think he ain’t.” 

Further conversation was interrupted by Dinah 
shouting in a voice that certainly must have penetrated 
a mile: 

“ Suppah’s ready, and ef you folks don’t come purty 
quick, my baby will eat eberyting dar is fur you! ” 

This produced a panic, and in a very brief space of 
time, the fugitives were gathered around the pile of 
fish, and eating with as keen appetites, almost, as 
marked their first meal upon the island. 

The fire had been kindled among the trees where the 
surrounding vegetation was dense enough to prevent 
its attracting attention from the shore. This place had 
been intentionally selected on this account, when the 
first fire was started by old Jud himself. 


226 


THE RED PLUME 


The island itself, especially the upper portion was 
covered with a large quantity of drift-wood, brought 
down during many a previous freshet, and this made 
the best of fuel for the purpose for which it was used. 

It was observed by all, that Red Plume displayed a 
capacity for holding food, which, to say the least, was 
amazing. 

“ Don’t think he’s eat a mouthful for two days, ” re¬ 
marked Jud, by way of explanation, “ and he would go 
longer yet without sayin’ a word, ef it didn’t happen to 
be handy. ” 

“ It’s a gift, ” said Pipkins, who was not a great 
ways behind the savage in his appetite; “ he and I are 
a good deal alike.” 

“ How do you make that out ? ” inquired Prescott. 

“ Why don’t you see what capabilities we have in 
the gastronomic line? ” 

“ But you have not abstained as long as he.” 

“There’s where the slight difference comes in; we 
are like and unlike, you see. I don’t require the time 
to develop my power in that direction; still, the power 
itself is very similar in both cases. ” 

And Pipkins laughed, as if certain that he had said 
something extremely funny. 

Lillian, Edith, and her mother, were quite reserved, 
and evidently did not participate in the hilarity of 
spirits displayed by several of the others. 

The great loss which Muggins had suffered was con¬ 
tinually manifest in his action and appearance. He 


THE RED PLUME 


227 


had not been seen to smile since he had learned the sad 
news. 

Naturally of a genial disposition, this was all the 
more noticeable, and he had the sympathy of all, in¬ 
cluding Pipkins himself, who was not without a certain 
kindness of heart, in spite of the triviality he displayed 
so continually. 

The storm which had impended some hours before, 
had now entirely disappeared, and the sky was almost 
entirely clear of clouds. The light of the moon was 
unobstructed, and the night was to be a fairer one than 
the preceding. 

The fugitives were now so thoroughly rested, that 
there was some thought of resuming their journey, as 
soon as darkness was fairly settled upon them, but Red 
Plume and Jud agreed that probably nothing would 
be gained by it. There was no island for many miles 
that offered such a good place of refuge as this, and it 
was no more than prudent to refuse to leave it, until 
they understood the bearings of the land before them. 

Furthermore, there was strong reason to believe that 
the Indians had discovered the presence of the whites 
upon the island, and would attempt a reconnoissance of 
it before venturing upon an attack. 

Quite late in the evening, after the females had re¬ 
tired to their tent, the sentinels were placed. Fielding 
took the upper end of the island, Muggins the lower, 
Prescott one side and Pipkins the other, while old Jud 
took upon himself the office of general-in-chief, or 


228 


THE RED PLUME 


superintendent, it being his purpose to walk around 
and see that each man did his duty. 

Red Plume consented to take the rest which his iron 
frame needed; for many an hour had passed since he 
had closed his eyes in sleep, or had given even his 
strained faculties a few minutes’ rest. 

So he folded his blanket around him, and lay down 
beneath one of the trees, where he could be easily 
reached by a signal from Jud, and here he immediately 
sank into that profound sleep characteristic of the In¬ 
dian race. 

Jud impressed upon each man the necessity of his 
keeping thoroughly wide awake, and each very natur¬ 
ally intended to do so; Pipkins lighting his meer¬ 
schaum by way of assisting him in the matter. 

“If you want to go to sleep, smoke your pipe, ” said 
he, as he adjusted himself in position; “ if you want to 
keep awake, smoke your pipe; that constitutes what I 
call the nicotine paradox ” he added, as he gave an 
enormous whiff. “ I say, Jud, if I see one of the noble 
red men of the woods endeavoring to steal upon this 
delightful island, I am to shoot him, ain’t I ? ” 

“ Yes. ” 

“ Unless he gives the countersign, I suppose. What 
is that? ” 

“ You may pick out your own countersign, ” 
laughed the scout, somewhat amused at the eccentric¬ 
ities of the young exquisite. 

E pluribus unum / then, is the word,” said he; 


THE RED PLUME 


229 


“ just instruct the others on that point, and tell them 
that it must be uttered in pure English, and not in the 
Sioux tongue.” 

“ Did you ever shoot a man? ” inquired Jud. 

“ Never but once, and then it turned out to be a mule 
that somebody had killed before me, I never scalped an 
Indian—that’s certain. ” 

“ You needn’t take the trouble to raise the hair of 
any you might see to-night; but the minute you’re sure 
it’s a redskin, blaze away. ” 

“ All right; I comprehend your instructions. ” 

With which Pipkins resumed his pipe and passed on. 

Muggins, although generally of little account, was 
sure to be reliable in any emergency to-night. He was 
silent and thoughtful, and would doubtless be glad of 
an opportunity, although, in a slight degree, to repay 
the merciless redskins for the terrible affliction they had 
brought upon him. 

He quietly promised an obedience to the commands 
of the scout, who gave him but little instruction, and 
passed on to Fielding. 

Here there was even less yet said. The Friend had 
learned an amazing lot within the last week or two, and 
especially within the preceding twenty-four hours, and 
the hunter had the good taste not to say too much to 
him. 

Prescott was quite apprehensive, and it will be ad¬ 
mitted that he had a good cause. His residence in 
Minnesota had been extended enough to give him an 


230 


THE RED PLUME 


idea of the frightful atrocities of which the redskins 
were capable, and, when it is remembered that he had 
his wife and two children with him, it would have been 
unnatural had he been indifferent to the situation. 

“ Have you any suspicion of the manner in which 
they will attack us? ” he inquired of Jud. 

“ Dunno as they will do it at all. ” 

“ I know; we all hope they won’t; but, provided they 
do, in what shape may we expect them ? ” 

“ Some of ’em will come sneakin’ around at first, to 
find out whether we’re on the look-out for them or not. 
You won’t have any trouble in seein’ them, ’cause, as I 
said, they won’t take extra pains to hide themselves— 
but it’s them that come afterward, when they feel like 
’tending to business. ” 

“And how shall we look for them? Although, I 
suppose, that if we are sharp enough to keep up a good 
watch, there is no fear but that we shall see them. ” 

“ No; you know as much ’bout that as I do. ” 
Having stationed and instructed them all, the scout 
began his rounds, making it a point to come upon the 
sentinels in such silence as to prevent their “ trim¬ 
ming,” and putting on a vigilance, which was not a 
fair criterion of their diligence. 

Fielding, as a matter of course, was wide awake, and 
as keenly alert as a veteran mountaineer could have 
been, so the scout passed on without letting him know 
of his presence. Muggins was silent and watchful, as 


THE RED PLUME 


231 


was Prescott, and Jud quietly went by them all, with¬ 
out permitting them to be aware of his proximity. 

Pipkins was sitting on the ground leaning against a 
tree, and very silent—so silent, indeed, that the scout 
approached closer, and looked in his face. 

As he expected, he was sound asleep! 

To test his watchfulness, Jud tramped about him 
several times, and even stumbled over him, but he slept 
on; and he finally left him as he was, unwilling to dis¬ 
turb the slumber that must be so refreshing. 

He had moved but a few steps, when a signal from 
Fielding drew him in that direction. The next moment 
he was at his side. 

“ If I am not greatly mistaken,” said the Quaker, 
“ yonder is a boat passing down stream, at about an 
equal distance from the island and yonder shore. ” 

Ere the deliberately speaking young man had fin¬ 
ished his sentence, Jud was looking sharply in the di¬ 
rection indicated. He saw distinctly a large boat float¬ 
ing downward with the current. 

w Yes; yonder goes a boat, ” he replied, after a mo¬ 
ment’s scrutiny, “ and what’s more, it's ours —the very 
sail boat I pulled under the bank. ” 

“ It may have floated free—” 

“ Not a bit of it—there be Injins in it! ” 


CHAPTER XXIII 


MANOEUVRING FOR POSITION ” 

This was not a very pleasant discovery to make, 
looking at the simple theft itself, or its signification of 
the proximity of the Indians. 

The boat could be plainly seen as it floated down 
stream, and the fact that it went neither faster nor 
slower than the current, caused the belief of Fielding 
that it had merely drifted loose. 

“ It’s all a trick, ” said Jud; “ it’s done on purpose 
to make us think that. ” 

“ Dost thou think there is a heathen in it? ” 

“ I don’t see any; but if there ain’t any inside, they’re 
watchin’ ’long shore, in the hope that some of us will 
go out to pick it up. ” 

“And must we lose the boat? Verily, we can ill 
suffer such a loss. ” 

“We can’t stop it just now; I’ll go down to the 
t’other end the island, and see what I kin see. ” 

Upon reaching the lowest point of the land upon 
which they were camped, the scout admonished Mug¬ 
gins to keep invisible and remain quiet; and then, lying 
flat upon the ground, he carefully scrutinized the boat 
as it floated away from him. 

232 


THE RED PLUME 


233 


By placing himself as low down as possible, the 
scout hoped to bring the gunwales of the boat against 
the clear sky beyond, but found it could not be done 
for a few moments, as the dark back-ground of trees, 
on the other shore, interposed and prevented. 

But as the vessel drifted downward, it passed away 
from this bank of shadow, and got below Jud, so that 
it stood out upon the surface of the water, with nothing 
but the river itself in the back-ground beyond. 

However, by this time it was so far away, that it 
could not be seen with very great distinctness; but, 
scanning it as intently as possible, the hunter fancied 
he saw the head of an Indian moving along the gun¬ 
wale, as if he were stealthily changing his position. 

His supposition upon this ground was strengthened 
by noticing a change in the course of the boat. In¬ 
stead of keeping on down the river in the direct line 
it had been following during the last few minutes, it 
was diverted toward the bank which it had previously 
left, and continued steadily nearing it, until, as it was 
about fading out in the distance, it mingled with the 
gloom of the overhanging undergrowth, and, although 
it had vanished from view, Jud was certain that it was 
at rest. 

The fact that it had gone out from the shore and 
returned to it at a point lower down, was proof enough 
that human agency was concerned in the business; but 
the hunter was somewhat puzzled to understand how 
the boat had been discovered by the savages. 


2 34 


THE RED PLUME 


True, it might have happened by accident, but it was 
so unlikely, that he was forced to conclude that he must 
have been watched at the time he concealed it himself, 
and thus, without knowing it, he had been in the power 
of the redskins, who could have shot him at any mo¬ 
ment while he was egaged in fishing. 

Jud conjectured that his enemies, knowing as they 
did that the island would be guarded by sentinels, 
hoped to draw one or two of them in pursuit, and thus 
uncover the approach to the fugitives, and give the 
Sioux the coveted opportunity of stealing upon them 
unawares in the night. 

With this explanation, the prudence of Jud will be 
appreciated in not venturing out after the boat. Un¬ 
questionable as was the ability of our friends to make 
a good defence, there were none of them at all anxious 
to bring on an encounter with their treacherous en¬ 
emies. 

Still, the hunter was not disposed quietly to give up 
their property, which was so indispensable to his com¬ 
panions in continuing their flight down the river. 
With only the two small canoes at their command, it 
was impossible to carry more than half the company. 

He was confident that, for the present, at least, the 
boat would not be taken any great distance, and, when 
he was prepared to manoeuvre for its recovery, he was 
confident that he knew where to look for it. Until then 
he could wait on more important matters. 


THE RED PLUME 


235 


“If you see anything more, ” said Jud to Muggins, 
“jist give a low whistle, like, and I will be here.” 

With this, he started toward the upper end of the 
island, passing on his way Augustus Pipkins, who, as 
might be supposed, was still sound asleep. Placing his 
arm upon his shoulder, he was forced to shake him 
quite roughly before he could induce him to open his 
eyes. 

“ Pm afeared you’ll catch cold, ” remarked the hun¬ 
ter ; “hadn’t you better put your blanket over you ? ” 

Pipkins rubbed his eyes for some time, before he 
succeeded in thoroughly awaking, but his self-posses¬ 
sion did not forsake him. 

“'You see, I knew there wouldn’t be any danger be¬ 
fore midnight, so I thought I would prepare myself by 
taking a little nap between now and then.” 

“ But I tell you, there is danger all the time; as 
much now as at any time.” 

“ Indeed! is it possible ? Why didn’t you tell me 
that in the first place. I am glad you have mentioned 
it, for now I will remember it.” 

“ I hope you will, ” said Jud, as he changed his mind, 
and walked back toward Muggins. 

It was about this time that Fielding, who was as 
wide awake as a weasel, was startled by hearing a 
slight ripple of the water, close to where he was stand¬ 
ing beside a tree, which sounded differently from the 
usual wash of the current against the sand. 

Knowing the insidious nature of the redskins, he 


236 


THE RED PLUME 


carefully took a step or two forward and peered into 
the water. 

He possessed a keen vision, and he used it to the 
best of his ability, but could discern nothing out of 
the usual order of things, and, after a minute or so, he 
stepped back again, with his suspicions partly but not 
entirely disarmed. 

Some little time passed when precisely the same 
sound was heard, and he again advanced and looked 
out, but with no better success than before. 

“ It may be that the storm of a few hours ago has 
raised the river somewhat, and the increasing volume 
is what I hear upon the beach, ” he reflected, as he 
stepped back to his place once more. 

But at this juncture he observed a slight swaying of 
the bushes along the shore, and immediately after, be¬ 
came certain that an Indian, on his hands and knees, 
was stealing toward him. 

The Quaker stepped back and concealed himself be¬ 
hind the tree. The next second he saw the Sioux 
slowly rise to a crouching position, and look search- 
ingly around in the darkness. 

He held this bent attitude for quite a time, not only 
looking but listening, while Fielding never once took 
his eyes from him. 

Strange emotions agitated the Friend. He very well 
knew that any other member of the party placed in his 
position would not hesitate to fire. 

By his side was his loaded rifle, and, in a twinkling, 


THE RED PLUME 


237 


he could bring it to his shoulder and send a bullet 
through the brain or heart of the daring redskin, who 
was less than a dozen feet away. But all through the 
frightful experiences of the last day or two, he had not 
knowingly killed a person, although he had some mis¬ 
givings as to the ultimate fate of the individual, whom, 
it will be remembered, he assisted off the roof he was 
seeking to fire. 

And although he was strongly tempted to shoot this 
miscreant, whose only object was evil, in poming upon 
the island in this manner, yet his nature revolted. He 
grasped the rifle at his side with a firm grasp, but he 
made no movement to bring it to a level with his enemy 
before him. 

“ Verily, I will defend myself if he leap upon me, ” 
he reflected; r “ but I cannot bring myself to strike the 
first blow.” 

It looked very much as if he who struck the first 
blow would strike the only one, as that would probably 
be an extinguisher, and he was not exactly confident 
that he would stand still, even, and patiently receive 
this infliction. 

By this time the Indian had assumed the upright 
position, and stood erect, turning his head from side 
to side, disposed cautiously to feel every inch of his 
way as he advanced into the wood, where he knew his 
hereditary enemies were partly sleeping and partly 
standing guard. 

As he stood with his whole figure outlined, he dis- 


2 3 8 


THE RED PLUME 


covered a form of peerless symmetry, and a man who 
would make a most desperate antagonist in a hand-to- 
hand encounter. Indeed, the iron-limbed scout would 
have carefully measured such a foe before grappling 
with him. 

But it was not fear that held Fielding motionless. 
It was the teachings of his life, which would not allow 
him to advance to the assault of the savage even though 
he knew he was coming with murder in his heart. 

Several times he was upon the point of signalling 
to Jud to come to the scene; but cautiously as he might 
make the call, there would be no concealing it from the 
ears of the Sioux, who was evidently listening for just 
such a warning from whomsoever might be stationed 
nearest him. 

Then Fielding was momentarily expecting the com¬ 
ing of the scout. Had the latter indeed proceeded to 
the upper part of the island, as he intended when he 
first left Muggins, he would have reached this spot at 
the very moment the Indian displayed himself. 

But the savage having waited several minutes, began 
moving forward, keeping close to the shore, however, 
and occasionally sinking down, so that for a short time 
he was lost entirely to view. 

Great as was the repugnance of Fielding to actual 
war, he could not consent to allow this miscreant to 
approach the sleeping ones in the centre of the wood, 
and he therefore began walking along parallel with the 


THE RED PLUME 


239 


Indian, and keeping himself between him and the 
camp. 

The extreme caution with which the Sioux stole his 
way along the shore, made it quite an easy task to 
maintain an equal pace with him, and to interpose 
against any sudden advance upon the part of the sav¬ 
age. 

Half the length of the island was passed, when the 
savage suddenly vanished from sight. Fielding waited 
a moment for him to reappear, but seeing nothing of 
him, he supposed he had gone further down before ris¬ 
ing to the upright position, and he therefore moved a 
rod or so down himself. 

But still the Sioux remained invisible, and fearful of 
being outwitted, the Friend hastily stepped to the edge 
of the river, reaching it just in time to catch a glimpse 
of the head of the Indian, as he swam swiftly toward 
the main land. 

At the same moment, a rustling behind him caught 
his ear, and turning his head he saw old Jud in the act 
of raising his rifle. 

“Hold!” said Fielding, as he pushed the barrel 
aside; “ he has harmed no one—why harm him? ” 

The hunter lowered his piece with a laugh. 

“ Ef any other man but you done that Fd shoot him; 
but you’re a plucky dog, if you are a Quaker. You 
proved that last night; but my principles is, whenever 
you see a redskin, shoot him.” 

“And therein has great evil been done the red man, 


240 


THE RED PLUME 


friend Jubal; for such a course must frequently strike 
the innocent as well as the guilty.’’ 

“ I don’t believe there be any such things as innocent 
Ingins,” doggedly returned the scout; “' they may put 
it on afore your face, but they will stab you to the heart 
when your back is turned.” 

“ What thinkest thou of Red Plume ? ” 

This was an argumentum ad hominem, and took the 
hunter all aback for a moment. 

“ I look upon him as a white man anyway.” 

“Ah! friend Jubal, thou canst not get over the diffi¬ 
culty in that way; Red Plume is as much an Indian as 
is he who just now fled the island, yet one is thy friend, 
and the other thine enemy.” 

“And you wouldn’t let me hurt either one of ’em.” 

“ Because it was not necessary.” 

“ Suppose you should see him leanin’ over—wal, 
say Edith Prescott—with his tomahawk raised ready 
to strike, and you stood as you do, with your loaded 
rifle in your hand—what then ? ” 

“ I pray thee, Jubal, not to force me to answer. 1 
am a weak, erring man, and the voice of conscience is 
not followed as frequently as it should be.” 

The scout laughed again, for it was evident he was 
pleased with the Quaker, who was indeed a noble and 
courageous young man. 

“Ah! you’ll do,” he exclaimed, slapping him on the 
shoulder; “ I ain’t afeard to trust you alone. I think 
you would be apt to strike rather powerful like, if some 


THE RED PLUME 


241 


of the varmints should press you agin the wall. But 
tell me where you first seed this redskin that you love 
so much.” 

Fielding related what is already known to our read¬ 
ers, Jud listening attentively in the meantime, and smil¬ 
ing in his quiet way, when the Friend told how he had 
managed to keep between the party and the savage. 

“ Lest the heathen should steal upon them un¬ 
awares.” 

“ Ef you don’t want to go into the scalping busi¬ 
ness,” said Jud, “ just whistle to me, and I’ll take it off 
your hands.” 

Going to the upper end of the island where he had 
hid his canoe, the scout entered it, and paddled close 
along shore in the direction of the point where Pipkins 
had been stationed as a sentinel. 

His intention was to give the young man a thorough 
test of his watchfulness, and in case he failed, as he 
expected he would do, he would withdraw him and as¬ 
sume his place himself, first calling upon Red Plume to 
take upon himself the office of general superintendent. 

The truth was, Jud began to feel that matters were 
getting too serious to permit any trifling. 

The water directly in front of Pipkins was quite 
deep, and the hunter purposely made quite a plashing 
with his paddle. 

Not a little surprised, therefore, was he, when he saw 
a man standing upright with his rifle in hand, who 
called out, 


2 4 2 


THE RED PLUME 


“ Who goes there? ” 

The hunter made no reply, but continued moving 
slowly along, quite surprised at the watchfulness of the 
young exquisite. 

“ Give the countersign—hello! you came near get¬ 
ting shot,” laughed Pipkins, as he recognized his 
friend. 

Jud complimented him on his vigilance, and instruct¬ 
ing him to keep it up, he left his canoe secured against 
the bank, and crossed the island to sit awhile with Pres¬ 
cott. 

“ I think I have risen above the boiling point in the 
thermometer of Jud’s estimation,” remarked Pipkins, 
when he found himself alone again. “ I have demon¬ 
strated my watchfulness beyond all dispute.” 

As a preventive against drowsiness, which seemed 
constantly creeping upon him, he had cleared away a 
small path, back and forth which he was walking at the 
moment he discovered the boat and its occupant. 

He now kept this up for some time, but although he 
had his meerschaum to smoke, he still found it rather 
monotonous work, and again sat down upon the 
ground. 

“All it wants is will” he reflected; “ anybody could 
keep awake a week, if he had a strong enough will; 
but I think it would be deuced unpleasant. I am going 
to prove it’s the easiest thing in the world to sit down 
on the ground and keep a faithful guard all the time.” 

For a time it was very pleasant (as he had quite ex- 


THE RED PLUME 


243 


hausted himself from so much walking), to sit thus 
and smoke his pipe; but in spite of the Herculean will 
upon which he had prided himself, he became sensible 
of a sleepy feeling gradually stealing over him. 

“ It beats thunder! ” he finally exclaimed, impa¬ 
tiently, as he made a desperate effort to rouse up. “ I 
ought to sleep a month before I undertake this busi¬ 
ness. Hello! that’s queer! ” 

This exclamation was caused by observing that the 
canoe left by Jud had shifted its position, and was 
gradually drifting free. Springing forward, he ar¬ 
rested it just in time to prevent its floating away alto¬ 
gether. 

“ It must be that the river is rising,” concluded the 
sentinel, as he replaced it in position, and took his seat 
again. 

Everything went along pleasantly for awhile, the 
night being just cool enough to make it pleasant to sit 
in the shadow of the wood. 

But nothing of which he could think could prevent 
the insidious approach of sleep, and he was relapsing 
into unconsciousness again, when he was aroused by a 
soft, grating noise upon the sand, and he looked up just 
in time to see the canoe slowly sliding off the shingle 
into the water. 

Pipkins was fairly frightened, and he stood almost 
speechless with amazement. 

But next moment a doubt entered his mind. He 
could not be certain that the boat had changed its posi- 


244 


THE RED PLUME 


tion in the least, nor could it be seen to stir as he gazed 
wonderingly at it. 

“ Wonder if I was dreaming?—no, I couldn’t have 
been dreaming, as I wasn’t asleep. I must have im¬ 
agined it, or heard something else, and confused them 
in my mind.” 

A footstep caused him to turn his head, expecting to 
see a wild Indian at his elbow, but to his delight he en¬ 
countered the pleasant face of Jud Judkins, the scout. 

“ Well, you didn’t catch me asleep this time? ” said 
Pipkins, with a laugh. 

“No; you’ll make a tol’ble sentinel after a little 
practice.” 

“ How much practice would you say? ” 

“ Wal, some thirty or forty years; perhaps not quite 
so long. Anything new since I was here? ” 

Pipkins was on the point of explaining his dilemma, 
but he was fearful of the ridicule of the hunter, so he 
simply asked the question: 

“ That canoe is just as you left it, isn’t it? ” 

The scout surveyed it a moment, and then answered: 

“ I don’t notice any difference. What did you ax 
fur?” 

“ Oh, nothing.” 

Jud eyed him sharply, but did not question him fur¬ 
ther ; and admonishing him not to relax his vigilance 
for a moment, he moved away again. 

It was now quite late in the evening, and Red Plume 
had secured several hours of profound rest, enough, as 


THE RED PLUME 


2 45 


Jud well knew, to suffice for several days; so he felt 
no hesitation in going to him and touching his shoul- 
der, the Indian awakening on the instant. 

Only a word or two was exchanged, when old Jud 
passed on, and the Indian rose to his feet. 

Left alone to himself once more, Pipkins did his ut¬ 
most to keep his senses bright and keen; but as it was 
now near midnight, and he had smoked till he was 
tired, and had nothing further with which to amuse 
himself, he could not resist the somnolence which 
speedily came upon him. 

Ere he was aware, his head was nodding again, and 
when he suddenly aroused himself, it was just in time 
to see the mysterious canoe slide off into the water, and 
begin moving down stream with the current, and seem¬ 
ingly at a swifter rate than the river could have carried 
it itself. 

“ By jingo! if that don’t beat everything! ” he ex¬ 
claimed, making a dash at it, but it was already too far 
to be reached with the hand, and he stepped into the 
water; but the rapidly increasing depth warned him of 
his danger, and he hastily withdrew. 

Still the boat was drifting further and further away, 
and not knowing what to do, the remiss sentinel caught 
up his rifle, and began following it along the shore, not, 
as yet, deeming it best (or, in fact, not thinking of it)’ 
to signal to Jud to come to his assistance. 

A rod or so was passed in this manner, when Pip¬ 
kins was more bewildered than ever by seeing an In- 


246 


THE RED PLUME 


dian step into the water, directly in front of him, and 
begin swimming toward the stern of the boat. 

“ I’ll be blowed if I don’t fetch you! ” he muttered, 
as he drew his piece to his shoulder, took deliberate 
aim, and pulled the trigger. 

The almost noiseless click of the lock warned him 
that something was the matter, and then the sentinel 
suddenly recollected. 

Just my luck! the gun ain’t loaded, and hasn’t 
been loaded all the evening! Ain’t I been in a fine 
condition to shoot somebody ? ” 

Whereupon he began reloading his piece, and before 
it was half done nothing more could be seen of the In¬ 
dian. 

Provided Pipkins’s piece had been loaded, and he 
had taken a true aim, his bullet would have penetrated 
the skull of the friendly Sioux, Red Plume. 

This redskin had comprehended the stratagem of 
their enemies, and reached the shore just as the canoe 
came abreast. He recognized the head of an Indian 
in the water, at the bow, towing it, and the instant the 
boat shut off his view, he noiselessly entered the water, 
and struck out for it. 

With the skill which he possessed in swimming, a 
few strokes only were necessary to carry him over the 
intervening space, and reaching up his hand, he allowed 
it to rest upon the gunwale, while he floated with the 
current. 

Red Plume could tell by the sensation of the water 


THE RED PLUME 


247 


against his limbs and body that they were not merely 
drifting with the stream, but that the redskin at the 
bow was towing it quite vigorously. This was also 
perceptible by a peculiar pulsation of the boat caused 
by the strokes of the swimmer. 

It was not a part of the plan of Red Plume to allow 
himself to be drawn thus unresistingly into the snares 
of the Sioux, who would be delighted at gaining such 
a prize as he. Pleasant as it was to “ float with the 
current,” such a course could only result in death to 
him; and when he plunged into the river, and started 
in pursuit of the runaway boat, it was with the inten¬ 
tion of bringing on a collision with the thief as speedily 
as could be done with safety to himself. 

It was not probable that as yet the pilot of the canoe 
was aware of the passenger he had in tow, so that the 
advantage was greatly with the latter, who silently 
drew his knife from his belt and placed it between his 
teeth. 

He was on the point of moving along the side of the 
boat to attack his foe, when the acute perception of Red 
Plume told him that the savage was doing the same 
thing, and was advancing toward him. The pulsating, 
onward motion of the canoe had ceased, and he could 
detect the faintest rustling of the water which told him 
of the exact locality of his enemy. 

When only a foot or two separated them, Red Plume 
took his knife in his right hand, and awaited the ap¬ 
proach of his antagonist. 


THE RED PLUME 


248 

At this instant, the feet of the latter struck the legs 
of the former, and immediately after his head came 
around the stern of the canoe, with a scared look, which 
showed how unprepared he was for such a meeting. 

Red Plume gave him no time to recover himself, and 
in less time than we have taken to describe the meeting, 
the thief sank under the water, with not a spark of life 
in him. 

When totally lifeless, he was caught and held for a 
moment with his head above water. This was done in 
order that his victor might scan his face and features, 
and ascertain whether it was possible to assume his 
place during the next hour or two. 

Concluding that the risk might be taken, he deliber¬ 
ately scalped the savage, and then allowed him to dis¬ 
appear in the river, while he began carefully re- 
connoitering his situation. 

Scanning both sides of the river, he could see noth¬ 
ing but the dark shores, and the solemn trees, all silent 
as the tomb. No star-like point of light showed where 
the camp-fire was burning, nor did any of those numer¬ 
ous bird-like signals betray the presence of the prowl¬ 
ing scout. 

Jud had told him of the abstraction of the larger 
boat, but had not said to which side of the river it 
had been taken, so that it was left almost entirely to 
conjecture. 

After carefully cogitating upon the matter, he con¬ 
cluded that it was the right shore, and his shrewdness 


THE RED PLUME 


249 


was further proved by his hitting almost the precise 
spot where it was nestling at that very moment. 

Having fixed his own landmarks, Red Plume began 
working the boat in toward land, and soon came so 
near that he discerned several dark forms moving 
stealthily along the banks. 

At the same moment one or two low whistles were 
exchanged, doubtless intended to guide the one who 
had the canoe. 

All this proved that the return of the Sioux was ex¬ 
pected, and that Red Plume had a delicately danger¬ 
ous task before him of personating the individual 
whom he had slain, as in all probability he would be 
subjected to a rigid examination, and, in case of sus¬ 
picion, to a searching scrutiny by those who were 
awaiting him along the shore. 

Still, he did not hesitate, and a moment later, as his 
feet touched bottom, he walked boldly out among the 
Indians, where, for the present, we must leave him. 


CHAPTER XXIV 


THE VALE OF SHADOWS 

While the events just narrated were taking place, 
an equally interesting incident engaged the attention of 
the sentinels upon the island. 

At the very moment that Red Plume landed, Field¬ 
ing, who still remained at his station upon the northern 
extremity, caught sight of a canoe that put out from 
the other shore, and headed straight toward the point 
where he was standing. 

The moment he made sure that it was aiming to¬ 
ward him, he foresaw the probability of an encounter, 
and, as instructed, signalled to Jud, who was almost 
immediately at his side. 

“ I seed it, ” he remarked, as he came up. “Ef this 
is ’nother trick of the varmints, we’ll see if we can’t 
smash it at the beginning. ” 

“ What dost thou make of it? ” 

“ There’s an Injin with the paddle. ” 

“ Dost thou see any more ? ” 

“ There may be more hid in the bottom. ” 

“ Verily, he does not comprehend his danger, ” re¬ 
marked Fielding, with some anxiety, as the Indian 
continued unhesitatingly on his course. 

250 


THE RED PLUME 


2 Si 


“ If you wish to warn him, you can do so. ” 

This was uttered more in jest than in earnest, but 
the Friend instantly took advantage of the permission, 
and stepping out in full view, he raised his hand and 
called out: 

“ I admonish thee to take heed where thou art com¬ 
ing, for thou art running into great danger! ” 

To the surprise of both the whites, the Indian only 
paddled the harder, and the next moment his canoe 
touched the shingle at their feet. 

It was then seen that he was the only occupant of the 
boat, and as the little weazen-faced redskin stepped out, 
with his wrinkled face expanded into a vast grin, Jud 
recognized him as the Otter, the companion, as will 
be remembered, of Colonel Havens, in ascending and 
descending this same stream, the second and first day 
preceding. 

“ He! he! laughed the singular individual, as he ad¬ 
vanced and took the proffered hand of the scoutain’t 
you glad to see me ? ” 

“ That I am, ” replied Jud, with great cordiality. 

“ I thought so, or I wouldn’t have come. ” 

“ And I am right glad to welcome thee, ” added 
Fielding, as he also offered his hand, “ for I observe 
thou art a friend.” 

“ Where did you come from ? ” asked Jud. 

“ Fort Grandon. ” 

“ Direct?” 


252 


THE RED PLUME 


“ Yes; I haven’t paused a minute on the way—came 
very fast. ” 

“ Thou must have done that, indeed, if thou hast 
carried Colonel Havens to his fort and returned af¬ 
terward. ” 

“ That’s what I done,” returned the Otter, with 
some pride. 

“ What made you come back? ” 

“ Colonel Havens sent me.” 

“ He did! What for?” 

I have a letter. ” 

With which the weazen-faced redskin drew a mis¬ 
sive from beneath his hunting-shirt, and handed it to 
Jud. The latter turned it over several times in his 
hand, and then passed it to Fielding, with the remark. 

“ It’s been so long since I larned to read, that I’ve 
forgot all that I knowed in that line, and never knowed 
much to forget. ” 

Fielding examined the superscription, the moon¬ 
light being just sufficient for him to distinguish, writ¬ 
ten with a lead pencil in a bold hand: 

“Lillian Prescott, 

“Sent by the Otter , an Indian Runner.” 

“ She is" with you? ” inquired the Indian. 

“ Yes; she is asleep, by the camp-fire yonder. If 
thou wishest, I will hand it to her in the morning. ” 

“ That’s just what I want; and now I must go. ” 

“ Why such a hurry? ” 


THE RED PLUME 


253 


“ I am expected at the fort.” 

“ Perchance there may be an answer expected to 
this, ” said the Quaker. 

“ I was not told to wait for any, but was only asked 
to see that she got it, and then to make all haste back 
again, unless I was wanted here. ” 

“ Haven’t you seen anything of redskins?” asked 
Jud. 

The Otter started, as if he had forgotten this alto¬ 
gether. 

“ They are all around you—on both shores—every¬ 
where ! ” 

As he spoke, he swept his hand over his head to 
signify that each shore was swarming with enemies. 

“ How did you get through with your canoe? ” 

“ I come up the river till I see sign—then I put my 
canoe on my head and went through the wood till I 
see the island—then I paddled out to it. ” 

“ How didst thou know that we were here ? ” 

“ So many of the Indians along shore—I knew that 
somebody was out here, and who so likely as you? ” 

“ Be careful they do not take thee prisoner when 
thou seekest to return. ” 

The Otter laughed his he! he! to signify that such a 
caution was unnecessary to one of his age and exper¬ 
ience. 

It will be understood, however, that he had greater 
need of prudence than Red Plume, for he was so short 
and peculiar in his appearance, that he could not but 


2 54 


THE RED PLUME 


be as readily identified by his enemies as if he were 
a white man. 

But Red Plume, in build, dress, appearance and man¬ 
ner, was the same as his tribe, and where his features 
were not liable to too close a scrutiny, he could easily 
escape detection. He had done this so repeatedly that 
it may be said he had scarcely any fear on the present 
occasion. 

Comparatively little information was gained from 
Otter, and shortly after he took his departure, aiming 
for the same shore whence he came. 

He had reached a point about half way distant, when 
the report of a gun was heard, and the bullet was seen 
to skip over the water about twenty feet to the right 
of the canoe. 

“ What you shooting at?” demanded Jud, as he 
hastened to the side of Pipkins, who was rapidly re¬ 
loading. 

“ At that confounded Indian, and if I can get loaded 
soon enough, Fll pepper him, sure. ” 

“ You mought fire all night without scaring him, 
but you may as well save your powder, for he’s a 
friend. ” 

“ But he’s running off with another canoe. What 
a wonderful forte those dusky scamps have for steal¬ 
ing boats. ” 

“ That’s his own boat. ” 

“Ah! that makes a difference. If he’ll only come 
back, I’ll apologize for my rudeness. ” 


THE RED PLUME 


2 55 


“ No need of that, for I don’t believe he knowed you 
war shootin’ at him. ” 

“ Who is he, anyway? ” 

Jud explained the character of the savage, greatly to 
the surprise of Pipkins, who expressed a desire to cul¬ 
tivate the acquaintance of the Otter. 

In making his tour of the island, and explaining to 
the different sentinels what had taken place, the scout 
finally came back to where Fielding was awaiting him. 

“ Wilt thou take my place for awhile, while I go to 
the camp-fire ? ” he asked. 

Jud willingly consented, and the Quaker made his 
way to the centre of the wood, where the camp-fire 
was burning quite low. He was hopeful that the re¬ 
port of Pipkin’s gun had aroused Lillian, so that he 
might deliver the letter to her at once. 

He was not disappointed, for as he came up, he saw 
the two sisters sitting by the fire, Edith occupying 
herself with stirring the embers, so as to make the 
light more cheerful. They looked around in some sur¬ 
prise as he came up. 

“ Canst thou not sleep in quietness?” asked Field¬ 
ing, as he halted by their side. 

“ It seems that with what we had yesterday, we 
don’t require so much, ” replied Edith, with a blush 
and a smile. 

“ I trust I am the bearer of good news to thee, ” 
said the Friend, after a moment’s pause; “an Indian 
runner brought this letter to the island a short time 


256 


THE RED PLUME 


ago, with the request that I should deliver it to thee. ” 
With which he handed the missive to the astounded 
Lillian. Then, with a delicacy which did him credit, he 
bade them good evening and withdrew, that they might 
not be embarrassed by his presence. 

As he moved away, Edith looked after him with a 
longing, earnest gaze and Fielding, turning his head at 
the same moment, saw it as reflected by the camp-fire, 
and he knew in his heart that she loved him. 

With a trembling hand Lillian Prescott broke the 
seal of the letter, and by the fire-light she read the 
following: 


Fort Grandon, August 20, 1862. 
Dearest Lillian : 

Forgive my manner of addressing you. I know it 
will be displeasing, but I cannot forbear doing so for 
the last time. 

I have been at the fort only a few minutes, and my 
faithful attendant, the Otter, has consented to carry 
the letter to you, so that I cannot forbear taking the 
opportunity of saying a few parting words. 

I had hopes of being able to march to the assistance 
of yourself and friends as soon as I returned; but I 
found orders awaiting which commanded me to go to 
a point a hundred miles distant, to take charge of a 
regiment of cavalry that are ready to proceed to the 
seat of war. I shall have an escort, so that no personal 
risk will be incurred. 

I did everything I could to get permission to send 
help to you, but am utterly powerless. The Otter has 
permission to remain with your company, if you desire 
it. There is such a panic through the northern and 


THE RED PLUME 


257 


western parts of Minnesota, and such an urgent call 
from the Government for troops, that my superior 
officer, who has just returned, peremptorily refuses to 
allow a single one to go to the relief of the hundreds 
who are perishing for it. 

I pray that you and your friends may safely reach 
the fort, which is the nearest point that offers any 
safety; but if Heaven so wills that you shall not, do not 
forget that you have the whole, fervent, undivided 
love of my heart. 

I thought, when you treated me so cavalierly, that 
my pride would sustain me in forgetting you; but I 
find my mistake. I cannot drive you from my thoughts. 
Even during the busy minutes when I am preparing to 
leave, and I am compelled to answer questions and give 
orders innumerable, you are not absent for an instant 
from my thoughts. 

I shall carry your image to my grave. Life, which 
was so radiant to me but a short time ago, is forbidding 
and dark. Little care I whether I live or die, for that 
which made life so sweet, that which fired my ambition, 
that which thrilled me with a pleasure never before 
known—all these have been taken away. They can 
never be replaced, and what is there to bind me to 
earth ? 

I cannot blame you for selecting another. You have 
known him long enough, perhaps, to discover virtues in 
him which I, in my blind jealousy, failed to see. The 
most that I can wish you is that he will prove as loving 
and devoted as I know I should have been, had fortune 
favored me, as I once foolishly believed she A r ould. I 
only hope he is more worthy of you than he seemed 
to me. 

If this parting had only occurred months ago—if I 
could blot from my remembrance the sails we have had 


25 ^ 


THE RED PLUME 


delicious hours passed in your society, the looks that I 
believed were something more than mere looks—in¬ 
deed, if I could turn my back upon the past, and close 
my eyes to the thousand-and-one little things that have 
only fanned the flame that has been steadily growing 
in my heart for months, then could I find happiness in 
the future, but not otherwise. 

I leave you, carrying no harsh remembrance. If 
your own heart does not accuse you, I shall not. 

Had you but called me, as I was leaving you, I would 
have rushed back to you. Disgrace, dishonor—all 
would have been unheeded had you but given your 
commands. 

But not a word. I listened intently, but heard noth¬ 
ing. I looked back, but you made no sign. Your 
heart was unrelenting; in truth, it never throbbed with 
kindness for me. 

Then why can I blame you? I cannot. Good-by. 
God be with you, and keep you, and make you happy; 
and may you forget that your path was ever crossed 
by so unworthy an object as 

George Havens. 

P. S.—Please hand the inclosed to Captain Swart- 
hausen. G. H. 


CHAPTER XXV 


RED PLUME'S PRISONER 

A few minutes before reaching shore, Red Plume 
drew himself up in the canoe, and landed directly at the 
feet of those who were awaiting him. 

“Owaton is a brave warrior,” remarked one, as he 
stepped ashore, meaning to compliment the supposed 
Indian for his exploit in stealing the boat. Compre¬ 
hending his intention, Red Plume answered: 

“ The Yengese fired their guns at Owaton, but they 
hurt him not. He went under the water, and the bul¬ 
lets passed over his head.” 

“ Great is Owaton. He shall be a chief of the 
Sioux.” 

As a matter of course, the supposed Owaton accepted 
his honors meekly, and made no reply to this high 
compliment. 

“Are the Yengese asleep ? ” inquired the same 
speaker. 

“ Some of them sleep and some do not. Red Plume, 
the hunter Old Jud, and the Otter of the Cheyennes, 
and many others are awake.” 

This was a piece of strategy upon the part of the 
Sioux, as he could have no suspicion that the runner 
259 


260 


THE RED PLUME 


was upon the island that very moment. He supposed 
he was somewhere in the neighborhod, and concluded 
it advisable, therefore, to locate him among his friends. 

It will be seen, also, that this observation of 
“Owaton” directly witnessed his own skill and bravery, 
inasmuch as he had succeeded in the face of all these 
obstacles, where one of the others had failed but a short 
time before. 

“ Have they guns and powder? ” 

“ They have guns and powder; they catch fish from 
the river, and they drink its water.’’ 

It will be observed that Red Plume was doing his 
utmost to put the situation of the fugitives in the 
strongest light, his object being to discourage the 
Sioux, and induce them to turn their attention else¬ 
where—an achievement which, we may as well state, 
he considered next to impossible. 

While this conversation was going on, he was stand¬ 
ing among a half-dozen of his race, in the shadow of 
the trees, where their forms were only dimly outlined, 
and where there was scarcely a possibility of his iden¬ 
tity being suspected. 

In truth the mere landing of Red Plume in the 
manner narrated cannot be regarded as much of an ex¬ 
ploit. Being of the same tribe as his enemies, and 
having spent the first thirty years of his life as one of 
their warriors who was always noted as a daringly 
fierce enemy of the whites, there was scarcely a pos- 


THE RED PLUME 


261 


sibility of his betraying himself, unless by some unfore¬ 
seen accident. 

A few minutes more were occupied in asking and 
answering questions, the scout, as a matter of course, 
giving a glowing account of the strength, numbers and 
watchfulness of the whites. Finally, the others began 
walking away in the forest, Red Plume accompanying 
them. 

Several rods were passed when he caught sight of a 
large camp-fire, around which at least twenty Indians 
were gathered, while he knew that fully as many more 
were moving around in the woods and along the river. 

Here an alarming surprise awaited the friendly In¬ 
dian. With all his shrewdness, he scarcely suspected 
the startling discovery he made—that their enemies 
were the very Sioux who had so narrowly escaped de¬ 
stroying them upon the lake . 

Aye, Red Plume was thoroughly astounded. He 
had held a vague fear of such a danger as this, and it 
will be remembered that he urged Jud not to make 
more than a temporary halt upon the island; but he 
scarcely believed that those who were so thoroughly 
intoxicated in the morning could be in a condition to 
take the war-path in the evening. 

But it was nevertheless true; and the same ferocious 
aborigines who had so desperately sought their de¬ 
struction on the shore of Sleeping Water had environed 
them again, when they had paused to rest upon the 
island. 


2 62 


THE RED PLUME 


Some cautious reconnoitring, united with conjectures 
upon his part, enabled Red Plume to gain the facts 
in the case. The lake party had probably used up their 
whiskey early in the forenoon, and the effects had worn 
off toward night of the same day, so as to allow them 
to comprehend their own situation. They could not 
avoid knowing that the fugitives had descended Cres¬ 
cent River, and they therefore started in pursuit some¬ 
where near nightfall, expecting to come up with them 
before morning. 

The probabilities are that they would have passed 
the island without suspecting the presence of their prey 
upon it, had they not encountered a dozen more of their 
tribe, who had made the discovery, and were carefully 
watching their movements. 

The larger company halted, and the two united, both 
fully resolved that not a white should ever leave the 
spot alive. Their manoeuvres during the night had 
been made for the purpose of weakening the fugitives, 
and destroying their chances of escape by withdrawing 
their canoes, and also with the object of learning their 
strength, and whether they were keeping up any sort 
of watch against attack. 

Red Plume was careful to keep beyond the circle of 
the light thrown out by the camp-fire, for it is almost 
certain he would have been identified, not only by the 
warriors themselves, but by the negro Lige, who was 
lounging on the ground, smoking a pipe, and conduct¬ 
ing himself generally as though he was among friends. 


THE RED PLUME 


263 


In the confusion of passing to and fro, it was no dif¬ 
ficult matter for the Indian to withdraw from the others 
without attracting suspicion. He sauntered carelessly 
forward, until certain that he was beyond the scrutiny 
of all, when he hastened to where he had left his canoe. 

The tiny vessel lay against the bank, just as he had 
left it, and a rod or so below was the larger boat, so es¬ 
sential to the escape of the fugitives from the island. 

Stepping softly into the birchen canoe, he moved it 
noiselessly down stream until he reached the larger one; 
but, while on the very point of unfastening this, he ob¬ 
served that one of the Sioux was sitting in it, so 
motionless that he suspected he was asleep. 

Here was a dilemma, and Red Plume paused a 
moment, undecided what to do. He had no doubt of 
his ability to extinguish the sentinel, but the ultimate 
consequences of an encounter with him were pretty 
certain to be the entire discomfiture of his scheme. 

While debating this point with himself the sentinel 
spoke. 

“ What seeks Owaton ? ” 

“ Is my brother here? ” was the Yankee-like answer. 

“ He guards the boat against the Yengese and the 
Red Plume.” 

This then was the object of the savage in sitting so 
motionless in the larger boat. There was a well 
grounded fear that either the distinguished friendly 
Indian or old Jud would make an attempt to re-capture 


264 


THE RED PLUME 


the boat, and the sentinel was stationed here to prevent 
just such a coup d'etat. 

Red Plume now resorted to every artifice possible to 
induce the Sioux to leave his station. He hinted that 
there was an important council at the camp-fire, at 
which his presence was needed, and offered to take his 
place until he chose to return; but the faithful guard 
steadily refused, and fearing that he had created some 
suspicion in his mind, the scout withdrew, as if he were 
going to rejoin the others. 

It was with something like chagrin that he sauntered 
through the woods, in the direction of the camp-fire, 
for he found himself foiled on the very threshold of his 
scheme. 

There seemed but one way of gaining possession of 
the coveted boats, and that was by stealing upon and 
slaying the sentinel; and much as he disliked this 
course, he resolved that if his second attempt failed, he 
would do it with all the stealth and vim at his com¬ 
mand. 

There was the additional incentive of the short 
period now intervening between the present time 
and morning. The coming of daylight would post¬ 
pone any such attempt,‘and in all probability would de¬ 
feat them entirely, as it was not likely that the coming 
night would see matters in the same position as they 
were now. 

Impressed with these facts, Red Plume returned to 
the river side again sooner than he had at first intended. 


THE RED PLUME 


265 


Peering cautiously through the wood, he saw the 
Sioux sitting precisely as he had left him, except that 
his head was bowed lower, the chin apparently resting 
upon the breast. 

A thrill of hope shot through the breast of Red 
Plume at the thought that perhaps he was asleep. 

Watching him as intently as he could in the gloom 
for a moment, the scout reached out his hand and broke 
a twig. It parted with a quick, sharp snap, but never 
once did the Indian stir his head. 

The sentinel was asleep. 

Satisfied of this, Red Plume lost not another mo¬ 
ment. He stepped as noiselessly down into the water 
as a veritable phantom, and approached the canoe, 
which he had re-fastened a short time before. 

This was easily loosened, and then allowing the bow 
softly to touch his shoulders, so as to prevent its pass¬ 
ing below him and striking the larger boat, he moved 
toward the latter, scarcely faster then the almost sta¬ 
tionary current. 

He had now approached the most delicately danger¬ 
ous part of his task, that of releasing the larger boat 
and starting it down stream, without alarming the sen¬ 
tinel within. When the proverbial lightness of the 
sleep of the American Indian is borne in mind, the dif¬ 
ficulty of this work will be fully appreciated. 

The wisp of bark which united the prow to a limb 
was parted with his hunting knife, and then the boat 


266 


THE RED PLUME 


was shoved out far enough to avoid the overhanging 
branches, and it began floating with the current. 

Red Plume did not enter his own canoe, but support¬ 
ing himself on the surface, man and boats were driving 
downward, as though each was part of some inanimate 
object, not a ripple disturbing the surface, while the 
daring Sioux who was performing all this took care to 
keep his head invisible from those upon the shore. 

As there was a bright moon in the sky, it was neces¬ 
sary that Red Plume should descend the river far 
enough to escape observation whenever he should 
strike out for the centre; and, remembering the rapidly 
approaching daylight, and the wonderfully delicate 
task he had in hand, it will be seen that he had enough 
to engage all his attention and energy. 

When they had drifted in this manner for several 
hundred yards, he set himself to unite the two boats. 
This he successfully accomplished, although great risk 
was incurred. 

His next step was to enter his canoe, which was done 
without any sensible jarring of the larger boat, and 
then everything was “ ship-shape.” 

Still the sentinel sat with bowed head, never once 
looking up. Sleeping like a cat, the plash of the paddle 
or a slight jerk of the boat would have aroused him; 
but none of these disturbing causes came about, so that 
his slumbers remained undisturbed. 

A great deal of distance remained for Red Plume 
to recover, and heading out in the current, he began 


THE RED PLUME 


267 


paddling across the stream, ever on the alert for any 
sights or sounds, from the shore; but all was still, and 
far above him in the centre of the stream he could 
dimly discern the outlines of the island, where his 
friends were so patiently awaiting his return. 

Gradually and steadily the Indian increased the 
speed of the boats until they were going at the highest 
rate possible, and he soon reached a point as close to 
the other bank as he wished to go. 

A grim smile lit up his features as he reflected upon 
the success of his attempt to outwit his enemies. He 
had not only recovered the two stolen boats, but he had 
run away with the man set to guard them. 

He no longer held the purpose of slaying the sleep¬ 
ing Indian, but intended to retain him as a prisoner. 

He was removed so far from his reserves that Red 
Plume felt he had him at his mercy, even if he should 
spring overboard and attempt to elude him in that way. 

As to the ultimate disposal of the sentinel that was a 
question to be determined by circumstances. 

Red Plume still pressed forward with his prizes, and 
was nearly abreast the lower end of the island when a 
wailing shout was heard from the shore. It was in¬ 
stantly echoed by a dozen throats, and was the an¬ 
nouncement that the recapture of the canoes had been 
discovered. 

But it was now too late to retrieve their error, and 
the Sioux leisurely approached his destination, as one 
who considers the battle ended. 


268 


THE RED PLUME 


Crash! went a rifle, and the whistling bullet warned 
Red Plume that he was the target of some one. 

“ Surrender, I command you! ” called out Pipkins, 
springing to his feet, and excitedly flinging his arms. 
“ Don’t you undertake to run away with that boat 
again, or I’ll—” 

But Jud Judkins made his appearance at this junc¬ 
ture, and extinguished the over-vigilant sentinel. 

The sudden uproar had as suddenly awakened the 
prisoner, who started up with a bewildered air. At 
the same moment Red Plume leaped like a panther into 
the boat, and, with knife in hand, confronted him. 

Not a word passed, but the savage comprehended the 
situation, and sinking down in the bottom of the boat, 
signified his acceptance of the situation. 

It was just beginning to grow light in the east as 
captor and captive landed, and one or two of the senti¬ 
nels gathered around them to hear the particulars of 
the daring exploit of the scout. 

He did not seem to be communicative/but a few re¬ 
plies to Jud were sufficient for him to understand how 
the thing had come about, and not a little admiration 
was excited by his account. 

The two boats were fastened at the lower end of the 
island, in full sight of the Indians, something after the 
fashion of the aborigines in leaving their scalp-lock, as 
a challenge to whomever chooses to come and take it. 

The captive was sullen and silent. There were no 
signs of fear in his face, for he was too accustomed to 


THE RED PLUME 


269 


this species of warfare not to be prepared for any and 
all consequences. His black eyes had a defiant glitter 
as they glanced from one to the other of those gathered 
about him, as if to say that he cared for none of them. 

Muggins and Prescott kept their places, although 
they had some idea of what had occurred so near them, 
while Fielding, Jud and Pipkins constituted a sort of 
reception committee for the landing-party. 

You have drawn an elephant in the lottery,” said 
Pipkins, addressing Red Plume, “ and what’s going to 
be done with him? ” 

“ He’s our prisoner,” replied Jud. 

“ Exactly; and how many men is it going to take 
to watch him? If we only had a prison here, such as 
we have in Chicago, we might lock him up, and set Red 
Plume to catching them one by one till we had them all 
in durance, and then we would sail down the river with 
banners flying.” 

“ I think you ought to be able to keep him in cus¬ 
tody,” remarked Captain Swarthausen, coming up at 
this moment. 

“ I never had a special admiration for the noble 
red man,” replied the exquisite. “ He’s a very nice 
character for the novelists to make heroes of, and he 
may be a handy fellow to be enfranchised after awhile; 
but no noble red man for me, if you please. I’m will¬ 
ing to let him go toward the setting sun just as fast as 
he can travel.” 

“ What dost thou propose to do with the prisoner ? ” 


270 


THE RED PLUME 


inquired Fielding, who manifested not a little anxiety 
about his welfare. 

“ If we can’t do anything else/’ replied Jud, “ we 
can starve him as we did Jarrik, and scalp him.” 

“ That would be wicked and cruel,” added the 
Friend, with no little earnestness. “ He is a helpless 
prisoner, and we cannot lay violent hands upon him. 
Why not try the effect of kindness upon him ? ” 

“ What do you mean ? ” 

“ Treat him kindly, and then let him go.” 

“ Do you think he would then induce the others to 
take their departure?” asked Captain Swarthausen. 

“ I am not prepared to say that,” replied Fielding, 
who had learned too much, since his residence in 
Minnesota, to indulge any such fallacious hopes; “ but 
it might make a friend of him ” 

There was something more than a mere sentimental¬ 
ism in this remark, and all appreciated him. Who 
could tell what good results might follow the plan pro¬ 
posed ? 

“ It’s purty sartin it won’t pay to keep him as a pris¬ 
oner,” replied Jud, after a moment’s pause. “ I’ll ques¬ 
tion Red Plume, and see what ideas he has about the 
varmint.” 

The scout spoke to his friend in the Indian tongue, 
as their communication in that was more easy than in 
English, and turned to his friends with a laugh. 

“ Red Plume is very ’commodating this morning. 
He says we can kill the varmint, or let him go, just as 
we choose.” 


THE RED PLUME 


271 


“ Didst thou propose the exercise of kindness toward 
him? ” 

“Yes; and he’s willing.” 

“ Then let us make the experiment.” 

The party began moving toward the centre of the 
grove, where the camp-fire had been kindled, Jud tak¬ 
ing occasion to admonish Muggins against exposing 
himself, as it was an easy rifle-shot from the shore; and 
there was little doubt of the Sioux seizing every op¬ 
portunity of picking off all they could. 

No little consternation was created among the fe¬ 
male portion of the fugitives by the bringing in of the 
prisoner. Dinah, who was just beginning to prepare 
their piscatorial meal, gave a fashionable scream, 
dropped her fish, and threw up her arms. 

“ My gracious! what you bring dat darkey here 
fur?” 

“ He wants his breakfast,” replied Captain Swart- 
hausen. 

“Am he de one dat ’bused my baby? ” she asked, be¬ 
ginning to recover herself, and looking rather sav¬ 
agely at him. 

“Ask Cato.” 

The young man, thus appealed to, took a cautious 
survey of the Indian, and pronounced him innocent of 
all ill-will toward him. 

“ Don’t remember dat I ever seed him afore—suah 
dat he neber ’bused me; dat is, I don’t tink he did.” 

“ Den he can hab his breakfas’ jist as soon as it’s 
ready, and not afore.” 


272 


THE RED PLUME 


Red Plume motioned to his prisoner to be seated 
upon the ground, but he refused, and stood with folded 
arms, sullen and defiant, apparently unconscious of the 
presence of any one else near him. 

The captor did not urge his point, but seated himself 
close by, so as to be ready to interpose, should he make 
any movement toward escaping from his custody. 

While matters were thus, Lillian Prescott delivered 
to Captain Swarthausen the note from his nephew. 

As may be supposed, the officer read it with eager 
interest, and speedily made known its contents. 

“ Back at Fort Grandon safe,” said he, “ and ordered 
away; so there is no telling when we shall see him 
again.” 

“ Is it out of his power to send assistance to us? ” 
asked Fielding. 

“ Yes; he has done his utmost to induce the com¬ 
mandant to do so, but he says runners are constantly 
coming in with similar requests, and he has peremp¬ 
torily refused to weaken his force by allowing a single 
man to leave upon any such errand, so we are shut off 
from all hope in that direction.” 

“ He will allow us to make a friendly call upon him 
while on our way back home ? ” asked Pipkins. 

“Yes; he will give shelter and protection to all who 
come to him, but he won’t help any one to get there.” 

“ I suppose he is driven to act sternly in the matter,” 
said Fielding, always charitable toward his fellow- 


men. 


THE RED PLUME 


27 3 


“ Yes; I appreciate his position,” replied Captain 
Swarthausen; “a commander can’t be just without 
being inflexible in his line of conduct.” 

“ Do you know what I would do, if I was comman¬ 
der of this department?” asked Pipkins, with an air 
which showed that he had developed some brilliant 
idea. 

“ I suppose you would resign and go to Chicago.” 

‘‘Not a bit of it; I would put Fort Grandon on 
wheels, so that it could be moved all around the coun¬ 
try. Thus you see it could be sent to any point de¬ 
sired, and the whole country would be protected.” 

“ You would institute an order of land iron-clads.” 

“ Rather of perambulating forts.” 

No comment was made upon this admirable idea by 
the listeners, so Pipkins added another observation. 

“ The longer I live, the more convinced do I become 
that I was born a military genius. Nothing is lacking 
but the opportunity.” 

All this time Dinah was busily engaged in the cul¬ 
inary line, and she soon had enough fish ready for an 
ordinary Indian, and announced the same to Jud Jud¬ 
kins. 

The hunter took the choicest portions offered, and 
spreading it upon some large green leaves, carried it 
to the Indian and offered it to him. The prisoner 
looked at him a moment as if he did not comprehend 
his meaning; but, when it was repeated, he closed his 
lips and shook his head. Jud spoke in Sioux, urging 


274 


THE RED PLUME 


him to accept it; but he steadily refused, clinching his 
declination with the characteristic remark, that he 
would feel no hunger while in the camp of his enemies. 

“ That’s all lost,” said Jud, as he turned his back 
upon the Sioux, and walked to where the others stood. 

“ No, it isn’t lost,” said Cato; “ gib me dat.” 

The fish being passed to him, the negro proved em¬ 
phatically the truth of what he had said. 

“ Thou hast shown him thy good will,” said Field¬ 
ing; “'he cannot fail to see thy friendly disposition 
toward him.” 

“ I propose that we cram it down his throat,” said 
Pipkins; “ that is, some other fish, for that delicate 
infant is already on the bones; then the Indian will be 
sure to remember how kindly we feel toward him.” 

“ Is there nothing else that we can do for him ? ” 
asked the Friend. 

“ Nothing; except to let him go.” 

“ Let that be done, then.” 

Red Plume being consulted, expressed his willing¬ 
ness, and the suggestion was carried out by Jud, who, 
placing himself beside the savage, faced toward the 
river, and signified to him to follow. 

The Sioux required no urging, and a moment later 
the two stood beside the flowing river. 

“ Go to your people,” said Jud, in the Sioux tongue; 
“ we give you back your life.” 

The prisoner went without delay. The scout 
watched him until he had swam the intervening dis- 


THE RED PLUME 


275 


tance and came out upon the main land. Then he re¬ 
turned to his friends, and translated the remark of Red 
Plume. 

“ That varmint will be the first one to tomahawk 
any of us that gives him the chance.” 


CHAPTER XXVI 


THE RETURN SHOT 

From one side of the island a narrow point of land 
put out, and in the eddy immediately below this was 
any quantity of fish, which were easily hauled from the 
water by the skilled hand of Jud Judkins, who was sub¬ 
jected only to the annoyance of keeping himself out of 
range of the Sioux sharpshooters on shore. 

While the morning meal was preparing, a sort of 
council of war was held, at which all were present ex¬ 
cepting Muggins, who persisted in remaining at his 
station until some one was ready to relieve him. 

As a matter of course, Red Plume and old Jud were 
the oracles. While both of them saw the sad error 
committed in remaining upon the island until the great 
danger was upon them, neither could point out the way 
of escape. The hunter took occasion to impress upon 
all the peril to which they were exposed of being fired 
at from the shore, and cautioned them against ap¬ 
proaching the river. 

“ There’ll never be a minute all day,” said he, “ when 
some of the varmints won’t have their eyes on it, and 
the first chance they get they’ll crack away.” 

“And will they hit us ? ” inquired Pipkins. 

“ The distance is so short that they can’t help it.” 

276 


THE RED PLUME 


277 

The only time that afforded anything like an op¬ 
portunity for stratagem was at night under the pro¬ 
tecting shelter of darkness; but, as there was quite a 
bright moon, such a night as the one just past would 
be of no more benefit than noonday. 

“ It must cloud up,” said Jud, “ the moon has got to 
be hid; there must be a regular storm that’ll make it 
as black as a wolf’s mouth. Then, there’ll be some 
chance of sliding off in the dark.” 

Red Plume having manifested some dissatisfaction 
at the departure of the Otter, without waiting to see 
him, it occurred to Captain Swarthausen that perhaps 
there was a good cause for it. 

“ It may be that he has some friends to whom he de¬ 
sires to send a message,” remarked the officer turning 
toward Jud. 

The latter shook his head. 

“No; it ain’t that. There’s only a runner here and 
there that he consorts with, and no notice would be 
took of any message that he could send the Fort, no 
more than if it was from me.” 

The result of the deliberations was the conviction 
that it only remained for the fugitives to preserve a 
“ masterly inactivity ” until nightfall again, unless the 
Sioux should make some demonstration against them, 
compelling them to defend themselves. 

This decided upon, all sat down to their morning 
meal, excepting Red Plume, who relieved Muggins 
while he joined them. But before doing so, all knelt 


278 


THE RED PLUME 


upon the green sod, and in the cool shade of the wood, 
offered up fervent prayers and supplications to the 
Great Being who had brought them so far through the 
wilderness, and who alone could safely conduct them 
through the danger by which they were environed. 
All hearts were solemn, for it was no time for levity. 
The shadow of death was across their path, and the 
hand of man was powerless to lead them through. 
Even the shallow-brained Pipkins for the time was 
serious, and none joined more earnestly in the supplica¬ 
tions than did he. 

When they rose to their feet, the eyes of more than 
one were moistened with tears, and for the time the 
silence was unbroken. Poor Muggins! erst so genial, 
so childishly good-natured and frolicsome, so infantile 
almost in his reliance upon his wife and others, looked 
so woe-begone and sorrow-stricken, that there was 
none who did not pity him. Pipkins regretted keenly 
the unfeeling words which he had uttered, although 
she had irritated him, and he would have given a great 
deal could he have recalled them. 

But, as this was impossible, he made it up as well as 
he could in kindness toward Muggins himself. He 
presented him with his pocket-knife, lent him his 
meerschaum, and showed, in a dozen different ways, 
that underneath his trifling manner there was a sympa¬ 
thetic feeling for a suffering brother, which could not 
forbear manifesting itself. 

When the meal was finished, those who had acted as 


THE RED PLUME 


279 


sentinels during the preceding night, disposed of them¬ 
selves so as to gain a few hours’ sleep, the guardian¬ 
ship of the island being left entirely in the hands of 
Red Plume, who certainly was well qualified to assume 
such a responsibility. 

“ They won’t steal many canoes while he's watch¬ 
ing,” remarked Jud, as he sat with his back against a 
tree in his favorite sleeping attitude. 

“No; nor dey won’t while I’se on guard,” added 
Cato, “ ’cause when I undertooks to keep watch, I does 
it.” 

“ You’ve been to sleep all night, so you can help 
him.” 

“ Not jist yit,” replied the African; “ I hasn’t quite 
finished my nap. Wait till I wokes up agin, and den 
I’ll do anything you wants me to do, dat is, if I wants 
to do it myself.” 

The day gave signs of being one of the hottest of 
the season. Even at this early hour its warmth was 
felt among the trees, although a slight breeze prevented 
it becoming oppressive so long as that lasted. 

Lillian and Edith, with their mother, strolled back 
and forth for a short distance through the wood, tak¬ 
ing good care to remember the warning of Jud about 
exposing themselves to the fire of the vigilant Sioux. 
Their curiosity, however, led them to a point where 
they could part the bushes and gaze across the inter¬ 
vening water; but, although they looked long and ear¬ 
nestly, they detected no sign of their enemies. All was 


2 So 


THE RED PLUME 


as still and motionless as it must have been a thousand 
years before. 

The wonderful propensity of the African race to 
slumber is well known, so that Dinah, although she had 
slept the whole night through, glided off into uncon¬ 
sciousness again, with Cato, her baby boy, within reach 
of her brawny arm, whenever she chose to wake. Thus, 
for the time, nearly all the fugitives were asleep, ex¬ 
cepting the females mentioned. 

As these wandered cautiously to and fro, they en¬ 
countered Red Plume, who came upon them with such 
a noiseless suddenness that a slight scream escaped Lil¬ 
lian. The Indian stopped, and his grim features re¬ 
laxed into a smile as he looked at the timid ones, whose 
fright was natural enough. 

“ ’Fraid? ”he asked, in his broken, jerky manner. 

“ I was alarmed until I recognized you,” replied 
Lillian, “ but we are safer in your society than in that 
of any one else.” 

The dark eyes of the Indian lit up with pleasure at 
this compliment, which he knew was sincere. 

“Keep way from water,” he added; “Injin ober 
dere.” 

“ We looked a moment ago,” said Edith, “ but could 
not see any.” 

“ Dey dere,” he added, more earnestly than before; 
and then, as he was about to move away, he beckoned 
to them to follow. 

, They did so unhesitatingly, until they caught the 


THE RED PLUME 


281 


glimmer of the water through the trees; then their 
leader paused, and carefully drawing some under¬ 
growth aside, asked them to look. 

All three did so, peering over the shoulders of the 
Indian. Following closely the direction indicated, they 
first descried a canoe drawn up under the bank, so that 
only one end was barely visible, and a little to one side 
of it they distinguished nearly a half dozen Sioux, 
sometimes halting and sometimes moving back and 
forth with a stealthy tread, as if fearful that the noise 
of their footsteps might reach hostile ears. It was like 
looking down into deep, clear water for fish, whose 
backs can scarcely be distinguished, except when they 
glide from place to place. It was only when Red 
Plume secured their gaze upon the very spot, that the 
aborigines could be distinguished through the inter¬ 
stices of limbs and vegetation as they moved along. 

The females gazed for a long time, as if fascinated 
by this evidence of the danger menacing them, and 
then only withdrew when their friend gave them an 
unmistakable hint to do so. 

“And they are the same who burned our house ? ” 
inquired Mrs. Prescott. 

Red Plume replied by a nod. 

“ How long will they wait there? ” 

“ Till git us, or we git way,” was the definite 
answer. “No whiskey now—no drunk come—dey 
wait.” 

“How are we to escape?” asked Mrs. Prescott, 


282 


THE RED PLUME 


looking earnestly into the swarthy face before her, as 
if she were about to read her own doom. 

“ Great Spijk tell,” replied the redskin, reverentially 
pointing upward. “ He tell Red Plume, and Red 
Plume take all off from Sioux.” 

(There was an earnest simplicity in the answer of the 
savage which touched the hearts of his listeners. He 
had the reputation of being a Christian Indian, al¬ 
though his peculiar reserve and reticence prevented, 
in a degree, the reading of the thoughts that frequently 
passed through his brain. Jud had spoken of his way 
of praying when they were alone, and his frequent 
communings with the Great Spirit who ruled them all; 
but enough of his old nature remained to give him the 
wildest pleasure when he tore the scalp from the head 
of his victim, and held the reeking trophy aloft, and he 
uttered his shouts of defiance. 

But there was one thing of which all were certain, 
Red Plume was as intensely hated by the wild Sioux 
of the North-West as he was esteemed by the white 
race, whom for so many years he had served with such 
self-sacrificing devotion. 

More than once he had acted as guide to parties 
going overland to California, and when the settlements 
of the territories began in earnest, he proved of in¬ 
calculable value to the forts, stations and settlers them¬ 
selves. 

Possessed of extraordinary fleetness of foot, with a 
natural keenness of intellect, trained by many a year 


THE RED PLUME 


283 


upon the trail and war-path, he was a man who never, 
to any serious degree, had been outwitted by his ene¬ 
mies, nor had he ever fallen into their power, when 
they would have been glad to sacrifice a half-dozen of 
their best warriors for the sake of securing him. 

He carefully scanned the shores, but discovered 
nothing new, and turning his back upon the ladies, 
walked rather abruptly away. 

Left to themselves, they wandered off toward the 
lowermost point of the island, where they carefully 
refrained from exposing themselves, but ventured upon 
the dangerous experiment of peering forth in quest of 
their foes. They looked long and searchingly, but it 
seemed as if even those whom their guide pointed out 
had all withdrawn further into the wood, for not one 
could descry them. 

“ Can you see the canoe ? " inquired Mrs. Prescott. 
“ I can't make that out even." 

Nor could the others, proving that the Indians had 
really left, or that the ladies needed the keen vision of 
Red Plume to direct their own. 

“ I am sure I can find it," said Lillian, taking a step 
or two in advance, “ for I do not believe they are gone 
yet." 

“ Be careful," warned Edith, placing her hand upon 
her shoulder; “ you run great risk of being killed." 

“ I do not fear—" 

Lillian uttered a shriek, and fell back in the arms of 
her mother and elder sister, and with the bound of a 


284 


THE RED PLUME 


frightened panther, Red Plume, who had heard the 
spiteful crack of the rifle, was at their side. 

“ Where hit ? ” he asked, dropping on one knee and 
gazing intently upon the pale face of the girl. 

“ Nowhere,” she replied, compressing her lips, and 
bravely rising to the sitting position; “ it was the wind 
of the ball before my eyes.” 

“ De wind kill like ball,” was the truthful remark of 
the Sioux. 

“ Not always,” replied Lillian, who, for the sake of. 
the others, forced back the singular faintness that was 
coming over her. “ I felt it, and thought the bullet had 
gone through my head for the instant, but I now begin 
to think it did not,” 

Red Plume sprang to his feet, and examined the 
limbs and branches about them. It required but a mo¬ 
ment for the keen eyes to detect the spot where the 
well-aimed bullet had clipped off the bark and half- 
severed the limb of a tree in their front, which thereby 
diverted the deadly messenger just sufficiently to cause 
it to miss the brain of Lillian by scarcely a hair’s 
breadth. 

It was one of those narrow escapes—so narrow, in¬ 
deed, that the remembrance of it almost takes one’s 
breath away for a long time afterward. 

“ Who tink do dat ? ” asked Red Plume, while a 
curious smiling expression overspread his countenance. 

Not knowing what he meant, Edith replied by sev¬ 
eral questions, until she learned that Red Plume was 


THE RED PLUME 285 

seeking to learn the identity of the would-be murderer 
of Lillian. 

Of course none had the slightest conception. 

“ De Sioux dat I bring shore—den let go.” 

Even this positive assertion of their friend could 
scarcely be believed, for they were at a loss to under¬ 
stand how Red Plume could assure himself of it. 

“ See here,” said he, rightly understanding the in¬ 
credulous looks upon their faces, “ me show him.” 

In the same cautious manner as before he parted the 
bushes, and they looked forth and thereby plainly saw 
the head and shoulders of an Indian looking out from 
behind a tree, as though he were carefully endeavoring 
to learn the result of his shot. 

“ Dat him ? ” asked Red Plume, with childish eager¬ 
ness. 

“ There isn’t enough difference between your peo¬ 
ple’s looks for me to distinguish them apart at that 
great distance,” replied Edith. 

The other two expressed the same opinion, and Red 
Plume was thus deprived of a triumphant confirmation 
of his remark at the time of the liberation of the pris¬ 
oner. 

“ Still we know you are right,” said Mrs. Prescott, 
smiling upon the redskin, who apparently was not a 
little disappointed. 

“ Yes; Red Plume never makes a mistake,” added 
Lillian, placing her white, delicate hand upon the 


286 


THE RED PLUME 


swarthy, muscular shoulder of the Sioux with all the 
confiding faith of a child. 

He turned and looked the thanks, which he could not 
express in her tongue. Then he gently moved her to 
one side, and took up his rifle and raised the hammer. 

No one suspected what he meant, until, with a quiet 
swiftness, he brought it to a level, and pointed the 
muzzle through the bushes. Only an instant was it 
held thus, and then the stillness was broken by its clear 
report, and mingled with the sound was the horrid cry 
of the stricken man at whom it was aimed. 

“ Neber do dat more,” said Red Plume, as he coolly 
reloaded his piece; “he bad Injun—he gone.” 

All were hushed by this sudden shot and its result, 
and while they admired the courage of their dusky 
friend, there was a certain awe inspired by this evi¬ 
dence of his anger that prevented their commenting 
upon what they had seen him do. 

“ Now go back,” said he, “ Red Plume keep watch.” 

His advice was heeded, and the three walked 
thoughtfully to where the camp-fire had died entirely 
out. Here they found all wrapped in slumber, except 
Jud, who opened his eyes as they came up. 

“ When I dream I hear a gun go off,” said he, “ it’s 
purty sartin that thar’s been one fired.” 

“ So there has,” replied Edith. “ Red Plume did 
it.” 

“And what fur?—but here comes the chap himself, 
and he can tell me all about it.” 



“ Neber do dat more,” said Red Plume. “ He bad Injun—he 
gone.”—P. 286. 

















































»• 
































I 









































































































THE RED PLUME 287 

And so he did in the course of a few moments. Then 
the two hunters conversed quite earnestly in the Indian 
tongue, and Jud announced to the listening but mysti¬ 
fied ladies: 

“ He’s goin’ to leave the island.” 

“ Now ? ” asked Lillian. 

“ Yes, now, in broad day.” 

“ But he will be shot! ” 

“ P’raps so; but he’s got some kink in his head, and 
thinks he sees a way to play another trick on the var¬ 
mints. There ain’t no use of talking, for he’s bound 
to go—this very minute, too.” 


CHAPTER XXVII 


the Quaker's wooing 

It was no ordinary feat to escape from an island 
during broad daylight, when it was under the close 
surveillance of the Sioux, on both shores, and yet Red 
Plume accomplished it by his great skill in swimming. 

Choosing a particular portion of the shore where the 
overhanging undergrowth was the heaviest, he quietly 
let himself down into the water, took a long dive, and 
when he came to the surface every portion of his per¬ 
son remained under except his nose, whose size was not 
sufficient to attract any notice except when very near; 
and in this position he supported himself on his back, 
and simply “ floated with the tide.” 

Old Jud, who was intently watching the manoeuvres 
of his dusky friend, followed with his eye the drifting 
signal, as the bee-hunter traces the bullet-like insect, 
when it shoots through the air, until, at last, it was lost 
to view, although the body was still within rifle-shot of 
the island, and of the Indians upon the shore. 

“ Ef I can't see him from here,” he reflected, “ there 
ain’t much danger of the varmints setting eyes upon 
him.” 


288 


THE RED PLUME 


289 


But this comforting reflection was cut short by see¬ 
ing a small canoe put out from the bank some distance 
down the shore, and begin paddling toward the centre. 

“ It can’t be they’ve seen him,” muttered Jud, as a 
chill of apprehension ran through him, “onless they 
spied him go into the water.” 

A long stretch separated the canoe from the island, 
but in the hope of deterring the Indians, the hunter 
brought his piece to his shoulder, and fired at them. It 
looked as if the occupants had no thought that they 
were the recipients of this compliment, for they pad- 
died ahead in the same deliberate manner as at first. 

The well-known fact of the greater rapidity and dis¬ 
tinctness of sound in passing through a solid or liquid 
(like water as compared with air) served Red Plume 
a good turn in this instance. The wash of the canoe, 
as it left the shore, and the dip of its paddles, as it 
passed out into the stream, were all heard by him, and 
the cause thereof was no matter of doubt for a mo¬ 
ment. 

It looked as if the fearless scout had placed himself 
in a position of frightful danger; for great as was his 
skill in the water, he had no hope in a trial of speed 
with a canoe propelled by his own countrymen. 

Still, Red Plume preserved his imperturbable cool¬ 
ness, and it may be said that he was not given an addi¬ 
tional pulse-beat, as he floated aimlessly downward. 
Although matters pointed the other way, he believed 
the savages had no knowledge of the ruse he had at- 


290 


THE RED PLUME 


tempted. Some other object had caused them to start 
across the river. 

But, if such were the case, the aborigines had so 
timed their journey as to make it look very likely that 
they would intercept their bitter foe ere he could drift 
beyond their reach. It was one of those accidental 
coincidences which are often fraught with serious con¬ 
sequences. 

In his peculiar position, Red Plume was unable to 
locate the canoe, but above the faint humming which 
the submerged swimmer feels in his ears, he could de¬ 
tect the steady dip and wash of the paddle, and he had 
not a moment of doubt of the general course of the 
boat. 

Great as was the risk, the Indian determined to find 
014 to a certainty the precise location of his foes. He 
was sure of the side upon which he ought to look, and 
he suddenly threw his head forward, imitating the 
movement of a fish, as it is sometimes seen to leap 
clear of the surface. 

The simple artifice was successful. The plash he 
thus made was observed by the Sioux, but their eyes 
were turned in another direction, and they very natu¬ 
rally attributed it to the cause that Red Plume intended 
should be taken. 

As he performed the stratagem he caught sight of 
the boat, and saw that, from the direction and the 
speed with which it was going, it was certain to inter- 


THE RED PLUME 


291 


cept him very near the centre of the stream, unless 
something was done to stave off the collision. 

Red Plume had the choice of hastening his down¬ 
ward progress, checking it altogether, or of accom¬ 
plishing the same purpose by shying off from the cen¬ 
tre of the river. 

He concluded, after scarcely a moment’s hesitation, 
to turn toward the bank which was opposite the one 
left by the canoe, and driving himself down stream at 
the same time with all the strength he could summon. 

He could gather comparatively little speed from his 
submerged position, and from the danger there was of 
attracting the attention of the lynx-eyed savages in the 
boat, but he did his utmost; and when the canoe had 
reached a point that was precisely the same distance 
from the shore as himself something like twenty yards 
separated them. 

It was a critical moment for the Indian, for had the 
eyes of the Sioux been turned toward him they would 
have been pretty certain to see the upturned face, as 
we see the bronzed countenance of a man gazing 
through the window-pane; but, very naturally and 
very fortunately, the redskins were scrutinizing the 
island, and had no suspicion of the proximity of the 
abhorred scout who had so often wrought them dire ill. 

At this time Jud Judkins was watching the canoe as 
a general scrutinizes the movement of his enemy. Great 
as was his confidence in the sagacity of his dusky com¬ 
panion, it was not until the boat had passed consider- 


292 


THE RED PLUME 


ably beyond the centre of the stream, that hope revived 
in his breast. When, at last, it glided under the bank, 
and the occupants landed, he drew a sigh of relief. 

“Good!” he exclaimed, with sparkling eyes; no¬ 
body but Red Plume could have done that! ” 

The afternoon was now well advanced, and all the 
fugitives were astir. Old Jud returned to the camp, 
and cautioned each against exposing himself or herself 
to observation from the mainland, enforcing his warn¬ 
ing by narrating the narrow escape of Lillian Prescott. 

He promised to patrol the island himself, so that no 
necessity could exist for any tempting the death that 
continually impended. 

This enforced quiescence was naturally irksome to 
our friends, who saw only an increase of danger in 
every moment that they spent upon this narrow strip of 
land. A general feeling manifested itself that, if 
another morning found them there, they would never 
leave it. 

The precise object of Red Plume’s departure could 
not even be conjectured. Even Old Jud, when ap¬ 
pealed to, declared that he had scarcely a suspicion of 
what it could be. That it was very important was 
manifest from the great risk he voluntarily assumed. 

“ You’ll hear from him in good time,” was the only 
reply he could give to their numerous appeals for in¬ 
formation. 

Left entirely to themselves, the different members 
of the party “ killed time ” as best they could, and each 


THE RED PLUME 


293 


in a characteristic way, and not forgetful of the re¬ 
iterated warning of him who might now be regarded as 
their commander-in-chief. 

The latter walked slowly back and forth the entire 
length of the island, down one side and up the other, 
insinuating himself among and through the bushes 
with the dextrous noiselessness of a weasel. 

Captain Swarthausen, observing the dejection of 
spirits in Muggins, lounged upon the ground beside 
him, and did his utmost to interest him in the “situa¬ 
tion/’ He succeeded far better than he anticipated, 
for to this officer was given remarkable conversational 
powers, and he was quite pleased to see his friend cheer 
up, and answer and propose questions in quite an ani¬ 
mated manner. 

Mr. Prescott and his wife sauntered a short distance 
away, arm-in-arm, talking together in low tones, thank¬ 
ful for the guidance that had led them thus far, and 
only praying that the protecting hand would not be 
drawn from them in this their hour of extremity. 

Lillian wandered off, seeking some secluded spot, 
where she could find opportunity to re-read and study 
the letter that the Otter had brought to her during the 
darkness of the night; but when alone, she was 
alarmed to discover that the precious missive was gone. 

She had lost it somewhere upon the island. 

Augustus Pipkins filled and lit his meerschaum, and 
then lounged toward a different point from the others, 


2 94 


THE RED PLUME 


seeking some place where he might loll in the cool of 
the wood and enjoy his nicotine. 

“ Now, if I only had a novel, it wouldn’t be so bad, 
after all, to stretch out and read yourself asleep; or if 
I had a copy of some good newspaper or magazine, I 
wouldn’t object to staying here for several days; but 
I will seek some secluded retreat, and there I will en¬ 
gage in philosophical meditation,” and the young 
gentleman passed his hand over his forehead as 
thoughtfully as ever did the veriest bookworm. 

Dinah, the cook, opened her eyes for a few minutes, 
and then shut them in sleep again. 

Cato remained seated upon the ground, wide awake 
and whistling some melody, and contented until he be¬ 
came hungry again. 

How it came about cannot be said with any cer¬ 
tainty; but, although Edith Prescott and Fielding took 
almost opposite routes, yet they had been absent scarce 
ten minutes when they suddenly came face to face in 
the wood, and both paused with a look of surprise. 

Edith blushed, smiled, and saluted him, and the 
young Friend showed scarcely less confusion, but 
neither turned and fled. Old Jud making his appear¬ 
ance at this juncture, afforded both considerable relief 
in the way of giving them an opportunity of exchang¬ 
ing a few words with him. But he tarried only a mo¬ 
ment and moving rapidly away, they were left to them¬ 
selves again. 

Accepting an invitation to do so, Edith seated her- 


THE RED PLUME 


295 


self upon a small knoll near at hand, while the young 
Friend very respectfully did the same, only taking pains 
that a goodly distance separated them. 

“ How wonderfully we have been brought through 
danger thus far!” remarked Fielding, after several 
moments of embarrassing silence. “ Truly the hand 
of God has sustained us.” 

“ It is what I have been thinking of ever since I 
awoke,” she replied, speaking the literal truth. “ So 
great, indeed, has been the mercy of God, that I cannot 
believe He will forsake us in this hour, when we can 
see no way of escape.” 

“ He surely will not, but He will not deliver us un¬ 
less we help ourselves. But for the watchfulness of 
Red Plume and old Jud, what would have become of 
us?” 

“ You need not except yourself,” said Edith, look¬ 
ing in his face; “for father says all would have been 
lost long ago but for you.” 

“ He judges me unjustly. My belief is against all 
manner of warfare, and I have not fired my gun with 
intent to kill since this calamity has come upon us.” 

“ It is not the firing of guns that has saved us.” 

“ But it has done an important part; without it, we 
all would have been lost long before this.” 

“And without the watchfulness and skill that you 
showed at the house, father says the place would have 
been burned long ago. But I do not wish to force any 
praise upon you,” said Edith, with a smile. “ I know 


296 


THE RED PLUME 


nothing myself of what you did. I only repeat what 
father said, and you cannot ask me to disbelieve him” 

“ No, I would not make such a request of thee. 
Equally hopeless would have been our situation with¬ 
out the presence of thy father and mother. If any 
praise be due me, it must be shared with them.” 

And thus modestly did Fielding parry the compli¬ 
ments that Edith in her partiality could not refrain 
from directing toward him. But he showed such a 
real antipathy to anything of the character that she re¬ 
frained from carrying it any further. 

“It would be idle to deny that great danger men¬ 
aced us,” he added, after another awkward pause, 
“ when the heathen encompassed us all about; and more 
than once I was sure they would overcome us all, but 
during all that time I can say that I never failed to 
think of thee.” 

There was no mistaking these words, nor the earnest 
gaze which accompanied them. Edith hung her head, 
but managed to find voice to reply: 

“ I am glad to find that I was not forgotten by my 
friends. Not knowing how we were situated, all of 
you must have felt anxious about us. I am sure there 
was scarcely a moment that we were not praying for 
our friends on the other side the lake.” 

“ Yes; the heart of thy mother was wrung with grief 
until she learned from Red Plume that thou wert safe; 
but not even then could we free ourselves of all anxiety, 


THE RED PLUME 


297 

for there never was a time when thou wert not in great 
peril.” 

Edith suddenly turned her head, as if alarmed at 
something. 

“ What is it? ” inquired Fielding, rising to his feet 
and approaching closer to her. 

I heard a rustling in the bushes, as though some 
one or something was approaching. It sounded di¬ 
rectly behind me.” 

“ There is nothing there,” replied the Friend, after 
looking at the undergrowth for a moment. “ Thou 
wert probably deceived.” 

“ Perhaps so.” 

Very likely as a means of protection, Fielding seated 
himself considerably nearer her than at first, and very 
naturally, too, their tones became quite low and tender. 

“ It sounded like the rustling of a bird,” she said, 
referring to the noise which had disturbed her. 

“ Very likely it was,” replied the Friend. “ What 
more natural than that it should become startled at our 
presence, and fly away ? But I will keep close to thee, 
lest it may be the warning of danger.” 

Edith made no objection to the proximity of her 
chivalrous friend, although she could have given no 
logical reason why there was more safety within an 
arm’s length of him than within a half dozen feet. 
But had her heart confessed the truth, it would have 
told of the pleasure and delight of knowing that Field¬ 
ing was so near her. His handsome face spoke only 


298 


THE RED PLUME 


of the nobility of the soul within. His deportment 
was consistent with his profession, and yet Colonel 
Havens could not surpass him in true courage, nor 
could any arm be relied upon with greater confidence 
than his, when there was need of good, strong blows 
being struck. 

Now and then, Fielding looked over his shoulder, 
to make sure that no terrible enemy was stealing upon 
them unawares; but as he became interested in the 
words of her at his side, he gradually forgot this pre¬ 
caution, and found time only to gaze into her peerless 
face, and to reply to the words that fell from her lips. 

It was hardly to be expected that the Friend would 
become sentimental in his utterances, and yet what are 
we to think of such expressions as the following: 

“ I feared that the hours would pass wearily to me, 
while compelled to stay upon this island; but verily, 
they are gliding fast.” 

“ That is curious, indeed.” 

“ Not so, when I reflect upon the cause thereof.” 

“ And what can be the reason ? ” asked Edith, liter¬ 
ally driven into asking the question. 

“ It can be none other than that I have peace and 
quietness—” 

“ Ah! I understand.” 

“And am in thy presence, listening to thy words, 
and exchanging thoughts with thee.” 

“ It cannot be—” 

Fielding seized the arm of Edith Prescott, springing 


THE RED PLUME 


299 

to his feet at the same time, and threw her forward 
with great violence, but still retaining his gripe upon 
her arm, prevented her from falling. Startled and be¬ 
wildered, she turned her head to see what it meant, 
when she observed him stamping his right heel upon 
the ground with a furious vigor, and with a glowing 
face that showed that his fury was fairly roused. 

Then as she looked, she saw something writhing 
under his heel, and only a second glance was needed 
to reveal an enormous rattlesnake already crushed out 
of all semblance of a reptile. 

The crotalus species, as is well known, is easily 
killed, and after the first stamp or two, its contortions 
may be said to have been involuntary. When Field¬ 
ing ceased, not a spark of life remained. 

Then he picked up the reptile upon a large stick, 
and carrying it to the edge of the river, threw it in, and 
when he returned to Edith he was as calm and self- 
possessed as ever. 

“ Let us leave this spot,” he said, leading the way 
to a still more retired nook, where not more than a 
dozen yards separated them from Augustus Pipkins, 
although neither party was aware of it. But there 
was little probability of either disturbing the other, as 
peculiar circumstances surrounded both. 

“ We must be careful,” said Fielding, “ for it is a 
general belief that if you find one of these serpents, 
you are certain to find another at no great distance.” 


3 °o 


THE RED PLUME 


“ How came you to see him ? ” inquired Edith, who 
had hardly recovered from her agitation. 

“ Didn’t thou hear the whirr of his rattle ? ” 

“ I heard nothing at all.” 

“ That rustling which first caught thy ear was made 
by the reptile, as he lay coiled under the bush close by 
us. Neither of us saw him, for we had no suspicion that 
so dangerous a creature was so near, and it was too 
small to conceal anything larger. While thou wert 
speaking, I heard the rattle, and when I looked up its 
head was drawn back to strike thee, but thou escaped 
just in time. The rattlesnake is a sluggish creature, 
and it was an easy matter for me to kill him before he 
could recover himself.” 

“ And, under Heaven, you saved my life, and I 
thank you,” said Edith, laying her hand within that of 
his, while her dark eyes filled with tears, and spoke 
far more eloquently than did her mouth, when she 
uttered these words. 

When she attempted to withdraw her hand, it was 
held fast, and the two looked into each other’s counte¬ 
nance for a moment without speaking. They saw eye 
to eye. 

There is feeling too deep for words, and it was such 
that swayed the hearts of these lovers, as they gazed 
through the “windows of the soul,” and saw an affec¬ 
tion, profound, pure and fervent, such as neither had 
scarcely suspected until now, but the revelation of 


THE RED PLUME 


3 QI 


which gave to both a pleasure such as had scarcely 
ever entered their dreams. 

They understood each other. The strong, manly 
heart of Fielding, the Quaker, overflowed with love for 
the queenly Edith Prescott, and hers was filled with the 
same emotion—as deep, as pure and as profound. 

But while she gazed, her eyes dimmed from the 
gathering moisture, and her sight grew indistinct. 
Then she felt something drawing her gently toward 
him who was at her side, and when her head rested, it 
was upon the shoulder of him who felt that he gladly 
would have held it there forever. 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


AN UNSUCCESSFUL WOOING 

Augustus Pipkins looked upon himself as thor¬ 
oughly refreshed. He had undergone a night of terri¬ 
ble watching and labor—that is all that had been spent 
in watching and labor; but the few hours obtained in 
the way of rest, he was convinced were all that he re¬ 
quired. 

“ Because if they were not,” he reasoned with him¬ 
self, as he thoughtfully drew his hand across his mass¬ 
ive forehead, “ then I should still feel the languor of 
insidious coma. That I consider as plain as a theorem 
in Euclid, and considerably plainer, if it is expected that 
I am to comprehend it.” 

He walked meditatively along a short distance 
further, and then, as usual, gave utterance to his 
thoughts. 

“ If I can only bring myself to believe that this is a 
quiet pic-nic that I am on with the boys, that there is 
an abundance of champagne along, and that I am nobly 
denying myself the indulgence of it, why it won’t be 
so bad but what I may extract some enjoyment from it; 
I can look upon myself as quite a hero—hello! ” 

Just then he caught sight of Fielding and Edith, as 
302 


THE RED PLUME 


303 


they sat with their backs toward him. He paused a 
moment, and then walked on. 

“ It’s a pity they don’t speak a little louder, for, as it 
is, I am unable to distinguish their words—but that 
looks rather spooney to me.” 

He walked on in the same thoughtful manner, but 
seemed in a very serene frame of mind. 

“ However, I have no objection to Edith taking up 
with the Quaker if she wants him, as he is a man of 
good moral character, so far as I can learn. It’s a 
pity, however, that he isn’t engaged in the insurance 
business, so as to have something upon which to rely 
to support my cousin in the style she ought to have. 
Life insurance and school-book agencies are essentially 
the American professions. Everybody is going into 
them, and everybody is making money excepting me, 
on my eight dollars—but when I get back to Chicago, 
if I don’t strike out on my own hook, it’ll be because I 
change my mind.” 

It so happened that Pipkins directed his footsteps 
toward the spot which was the scene of Lillian’s nar¬ 
row escape from the bullet of the vengeful Sioux. Ap¬ 
pearing as if it were as secluded a place as he could find, 
he spread his handkerchief upon the grass, sat down 
upon it and began to smoke and “ meditate.” 

And just as he did so, he observed a piece of paper 
folded and lying upon the ground. By way of joking 
with himself, he whistled and beckoned with his fore- 


THE RED PLUME 


3 ° 4 

finger for it to approach. Then he leaned forward, and 
as he picked it up, observed that it was a letter. 

“ Directed to Lillian Prescott, too/’ he repeated, in 
some surprise, as he turned it over in his hand. “ That 
isn’t my handwriting, I’m sure, because I can’t write as 
well as that, for all I am a clerk in an insurance office.” 

He held it close and far from his eyes, but he could 
not remember that he had ever seen anything like it 
before. 

“ I should like to know who has had the impudence 
to write to her,” he muttered, somewhat indignant. 
“ She is to be my wife; that’s all settled. I haven’t 
asked her yet, but there’s no danger of her refusing. I 
never saw a girl yet that wouldn’t jump at the first 
offer, and I don’t believe there is a female living that 
would refuse me. (That’s between me and myself, of 
course.”) 

Nevertheless the young gentleman was sincere in 
what he had uttered, although he had done it so 
secretly. 

“ That being the case,” he added, “ it’s my duty to 
oversee her correspondence as far as possible.” 

Whereupon he very deliberately opened Colonel 
Havens’ letter, and read it from beginning to end. He 
was not only surprised but furiously enraged, that any 
one should presume to address her, especially when 
the letter itself proved that the writer was aware of the 
“tender ties” that existed between the two. 


THE RED PLUME 


3 ° 5 ' 

“The scoundrel!” he exclaimed, clinching his fists; 
“if I ever meet him, I’ll chastize him. I’ll teach him 
how to interfere between a young couple devoted to 
each other. It’s time he learned the danger of doing 
so. Here he has been like the serpent that, after being 
warmed, turned about and bit you. Such is the in¬ 
gratitude of the world! ” 

Pipkins carefully replaced the letter in the envelope, 
and then put it in his pocket and resumed smoking, 
the sober air of thoughtfulness upon his brow over¬ 
shadowed by the vexation he had suffered from the 
discovery. 

A light footstep struck upon his ear ,and looking up, 
he saw Lillian approaching, her eyes upon the ground, 
anc her countenance showing that she was disturbed 
by something, very manifestly the loss of the letter, 
which at that moment was carefully stored away in the 
breast pocket of Mr. Pipkins’ coat. 

She did not look up until only a few feet separated 
them, and then she stopped short, with a slight ex¬ 
clamation of alarm. 

“ O, cousin! how you frightened me! ” she ex¬ 
claimed, with a laugh. 

“ Is there anything very terrifying in my appear¬ 
ance? ” he inquired, in his cool, self-possessed manner. 

“Nothing, whatever; but anything would have 
alarmed me.” 

“ What brought you here? ” he asked, well satisfied 
of her real object. 


3°6 


THE RED PLUME 


“ I was looking for a letter that I must have dropped. 
Have you seen anything of it ? ” 

“ Whom was it from ? ” inquired Pipkins, endeavor¬ 
ing to put on as stern a look as possible. 

“ From a friend,” she replied in the careless tones of 
indifference, looking about her upon the grass. “ It is 
not of much importance, but I should be sorry to have it 
fall into the hands of any one else.” 

“ Lillian,” said her cousin, in the tones of a judge 
about pronouncing sentence, “sit down here a few mo¬ 
ments. I’ve got something to say to you.” 

The girl looked wonderingly at him, not dreaming 
that he was really serious. He had such a way of af¬ 
fecting a solemnity when in the most trifling of moods, 
that she was sure such was the case now. She unhesi¬ 
tatingly took her seat beside him, as she would have 
done were he her brother. 

They sat in silence a few moments, during which 
she wondered what was coming, and he slowly puffed 
his meerschaum, languidly rowing away the smoke 
with his hand, as it kept drifting continuously into the 
face of the girl beside him. Finally he removed the 
amber from his mouth. 

“ Lillian, dear, will you answer me a few ques¬ 
tions ? ” he asked, in a low, sad voice. 

“ Did I ever refuse you? ” 

“ Don’t know as you did, and I hope you won’t 
now.” 

“ Not if I am able to enlighten you.” 


THE RED PLUME 


307 


“ Do you know a young man named Havens ? 
George Havens, I think. I believe he is a corporal or 
sergeant in the army.” 

Lillian was at a loss to understand the meaning of 
this question; but believing that her cousin was jesting 
under the garb of seriousness, she answered with 
scarcely a second's hesitation, 

“ You mean Colonel Havens. Of course, we all 
know him! ” 

“ What sort of a fellow is he ? ” 

“ Brave, handsome, gallant, talented and chival¬ 
rous.” 

Pipkins turned toward her in amazement. 

“ Wouldn’t you like to hunt up a few more adjec¬ 
tives? I don’t think those are expressive enough.” 

“ They express my meaning,” she replied, with 
something of her coquettish manner, and with a buoy¬ 
ancy of spirits to which she had been a stranger a long 
time. “ Do you wish me to be more explicit ? ” 

“ Not at all; fact is you are too explicit altogether. 
But why do you admire this fellow? ” 

“ For the same reason they all do, he deserves it.” 

“ Are you sure of that? ” 

This question was one of those “ fearfully mys¬ 
terious ” ones that are intended to imply a great deal. 
By the figure of litotes it may be said that it meant to 
inform his companion that she could not be certain of 
such a thing; but for all that she answered unhesitat¬ 
ingly. 


3°8 


THE RED PLUME 


“ Yes, sir; I am sure of it! ” 

"I ain’t” 

“ That is all very natural, for you have no acquain¬ 
tance with him. In such a case you ought to take my 
word for it.” 

“ Umph! that’s cool! ” reflected Pipkins; “ she is as 
independent as if she cared nothing for me. She 
hasn’t learned to understand me yet. She doesn’t 
know what a terrible nature I have when aroused.” 
Then, turning to her: 

“ Lillian, to tell you the plain truth, I have reason to 
believe that this Corporal Havens—” 

“ Colonel Havens—” 

“ Is altogether unworthy of your love—I should say 
esteem.” 

“ What reason have you for saying so ? ” 

“ I have it from good authority that he is—that he 
is—that is, real cozvardly — a veritable poltroon.” 

“ What is your authority ? ” 

Lillian fired her questions with such bewildering 
swiftness, that poor Pipkins was unable to answer with 
promptness, and he regretted that he hadn’t “pre¬ 
pared” himself for this business. 

“ Why—let me see—Colonel Jones, of Chicago.” 

“ Where did he learn it? ” 

“ He was with him at the battle of Bull Run.” 

“ Are you sure that that was the battle ? ” 

“ Certain of it,” replied Pipkins, determined to stick 
to this point at least, now that he had made it. 


THE RED PLUME 


3°9 


“ It was at no other battle ? ” 

“ No other.” 

“ You are sure it was Bull Run ? ” 

“ Absolutely certain.” 

Lillian laughed—that clear, rippling laugh of hers. 
A shudder of apprehension ran over Pipkins when he 
heard it. He felt like the soldier who hears the pinging 
of the coming shell, and knows that it is going to burst 
over his head. 

“ I do not see what there is to laugh at.” 

“ Colonel Havens was not in that battle” 

It took fully a minute before Pipkins could recover 
from the shock of this reply, which was intensified by 
that silvery, rippling laugh of Lillian, who thoroughly 
enjoyed the discomfiture of her cousin. He cleared 
his throat, and drew his hand across his brow, as if 
striving to awaken recollection, and finally said: 

“ Let me see; by Jingo! I was mistaken.” 

“ Then you ought to apologize to Colonel Havens.” 

“ Confound it! that ain’t what I mean. I recollect 
now that it was not Bull Run, but some other battle.” 

“ What other battle ? ” 4 

But Pipkins was not to be caught again. 

“ I have forgotten, I declare. It was on my tongue, 
but I cannot recall it.” 

Again that laugh of Lillian’s rang out upon the air, 
and Pipkins began to feel as though he had been de¬ 
tected in something of which he ought to be ashamed. 

“ It won’t do,” said Lillian, as soon as she could com¬ 
mand her voice. “ I don’t believe a word you say! ” 


3 io 


THE RED PLUME 


“ Well, I consider that an insulting insinuation—” 

“ Who cares if you do ? ” 

And the eyes of the “ airy, fairy girl ” sparkled so 
roguishly and her face glowed with such merriment, 
that the young man found it impossible to bluster, and 
smiled in spite of himself. 

“ Can you not be serious ? ” he asked. 

“ Certainly I can, if there be any reason.” 

“ I have something to say to you—something in 
which you are or ought to be interested, and I hope 
you will listen.” 

“ Now speak the truth, ’Dolph, and none can be 
more respectful than you will find me.” 

“ Are you engaged to be married to Colonel 
Havens ?” 

“ What a question! ” she exclaimed, with a laugh; 
but, at the same time, the painful thrill shot through 
her heart at the remembrance of the parting, and of 
the letter which had come to her in the darkness of the 
night. 

“ But you haven’t answered it,” he persisted. 

“If you are serious in asking your question, then I 
can say no —nor ever have been.” 

“ For all that, he loves you.” 

It was singular to Lillian that she should feel such 
pleasure at this remark, even though it came from such 
poor authority as her cousin. 

“ How do you know that? ” she asked, impulsively. 

“ His letter shows it.” 


THE RED PLUME 


3 11 


“ What do you mean ? ” demanded Lillian, her face 
flushing with indignation. “ What letter shows it? ” 

Pipkins very coolly drew the missive from his pocket 
—that missive which had caused her so much sadness, 
and for which she had been searching so long. 

“ I understand human nature well enough,” he 
added, “ to see that that fellow is fairly beside himself 
with love. If you don’t believe it, I will read this let¬ 
ter out before all upon the island, and see whether they 
don’t agree with me.” 

Pipkins was proceeding to unfold the letter, for the 
purpose of indicating some “ particular passage,” when 
Lillian, thoroughly out of temper, demanded it of him 
in such an unmistakable manner that he could not re¬ 
fuse it. 

“ What business have you to read my letter? ” she 
asked, all the laughter and merriment gone from her 
eyes, from which she was scarcely able to keep back 
the tears of vexation. 

Feeling that it was incumbent upon him to demon¬ 
strate the lofty wisdom of his course in this matter, 
Pipkins roused himself, and said, earnestly: 

“ Lillian, it was my place to do so. You are the one 
who have acted wrong in not bringing it to me in the 
first place. / am the one who ought to have read it 
first.” 

The consummate assurance of the man was so great 
as partly to dispel the anger of Lillian. His last re¬ 
mark proved that he was scarcely worth the dignity of 


312 


i THE RED PLUME 


indignation. She carefully replaced the letter, and rose 
to go. 

“ Hold on! I ain’t through with you yet,” he called 
out; and, wondering what he could mean, she re¬ 
mained seated, and looked inquiringly around at him. 

“ You mustn’t forget the situation in which you are 
placed,” he began, with all the solemnity at his com¬ 
mand. “ I must compliment you, madam, on notify¬ 
ing him of my prior claim upon you, and I only hope 
you will ever act in such a manner that he cannot fail 
to see it. I will call him to account for this imperti¬ 
nence—” 

When Fielding affirmed that the poisonous serpent 
which he killed had its companion somewhere in the 
vicinity he spoke the truth, for, at this juncture, Pip¬ 
kins detected it gliding over the ground only a few feet 
from where the two were sitting. With a gasp of 
horror, he pointed his finger toward the horrid object. 
Neither dared stir, for fear of alarming the reptile and 
inviting its deadly blow. 

The rattlesnake slowly glided over the grass and 
leaves until nearly opposite where they sat, when it 
elevated its head, waved it back and forth, and then 
went into a coil. 

It was so far away that there was no danger of its 
striking them so long as each party maintained its rela¬ 
tive position; but the trouble was that it had cut off 
their line of retreat. 

Immediately behind them was the river, and it was 


THE RED PLUME 


3*3 


impossible to leave the spot without approaching closer 
to the poisonous reptile; but both edged as far away 
as they could without entering the water itself. 

“ By jingo! here’s a go! ” muttered Pipkins, when 
in some measure he had become accustomed to the dan¬ 
ger. “ What shall we do, Lillian? ” 

“ Call for help.” 

“ Don’t you try it. Just as like as not, if you open 
your mouth he’ll make a dive at you, and then it’ll be 
all up with you! ” 

“ I cannot remain here in the presence of that dread¬ 
ful creature. I would rather step into the river, and 
pass around out of its way.” 

“And get another shot from one of the redskins on 
the shore.” 

Lillian recalled that this was the very spot where she 
had so narrowly escaped death a short time before, and 
she shuddered at the thought. 

To retreat or to advance was death. They were in a 
dilemma, indeed! 

“ We cannot save ourselves,” said Lillian. “ There 
must be some one near at hand, and I will not call too 
loud.” 

“ Don’t do it just yet,” Pipkins hastened to say, 
“ Like enough it will take a notion to move off. Con¬ 
found it! why did it stop just there? ” 

“ Is there no stone or stick that you can throw at 
it ? ” inquired Lillian, who began to think it was time 
her companion did something to protect them both. 


3M 


THE RED PLUME 


“ That’s what I’ve been looking for,” he replied, 
gazing down at the ground; “ but I don’t see anything 
suitable.” 

“ If Colonel Havens were here, he would have killed 
the reptile on the instant.” 

This fired up Pipkins, who broke a stick from a 
branch overhead, and advanced resolutely to the as¬ 
sault ; but he took good care not to approach too close. 
Brandishing it overhead, he circled around the reptile, 
fearful of coming near enough to strike, but keeping 
his eye upon his enemy all the time. 

While circling in this manner his foot struck a stone, 
which he picked up, and hurled at the elevated head of 
the rattlesnake. Fortunately the missile went straight, 
and struck the very point at which it was aimed. The 
reptile writhed and twisted over and over upon itself 
fiercely for a few minutes, and then lay motionless in 
death. 

Very naturally, Pipkins was elated over the success 
of his demonstration against their foe, and demanded 
of Lillian whether it was not well done. 

“ Very well, indeed,” she replied, “ and I am grate¬ 
ful for our escape. But I begin to feel a terror for this 
spot. Already death has threatened me twice, and let 
us stay here no longer.” 

“ Where shall we go ? ” asked her cousin, halting 
after they had passed beyond the vicinity of the rep¬ 
tile.” 

“ Back to the camp, where father and mother are.” 


THE RED PLUME 


315 


“ But I had something more to say to you. I had 
not said all that I wished to,” he replied. 

“ You said enough.” 

He looked earnestly at her; but she was in no mood 
to be trifled with, and so he was compelled to follow 
her back to camp. 


CHAPTER XXIX 


THE RAFT 

When noon came, the heat upon the island was op¬ 
pressive. Even the thick shade of the trees and under¬ 
growth could not protect our friends from its enervat¬ 
ing effects, and little was done except to lounge upon 
the grass and languidly converse upon the ever-im- 
portant matter of their escape from the island. 

At meridian there was no one who asked for food 
excepting Cato. The substantial character of the pre¬ 
vious meals and the warmth of the day were such that 
it was hardly natural that they should feel any degree 
of hunger; and the pleasure of the coming dinner was 
somewhat marred by the knowledge that it was to be 
of the same character as the meals already taken. No 
food had been brought with them, and were it not for 
the piscatorial skill of old Jud, they would have been 
in a sad condition indeed. 

The scout kept up his ceaseless tramp over the island 
and his vigilant scrutiny of the shores. More than once 
he had detected signs of his enemies, but they evi¬ 
dently contemplated no movement or demonstration 
during the day time, or at least while they were 
watched with such tireless sharpness. 


THE RED PLUME 


3i7 

Captain Swarthausen and Muggins had enjoyed a 
very interesting conversation, until they had tired 
themselves out, and they only exchanged words semi- 
occasionally. Fielding was reclining on the ground 
close to Edith Prescott and her mother, both of whom 
were listening to his words, or exchanging questions 
and answers with him. Quiet and self-possessed, and 
well-informed, he was always able to interest his audi¬ 
tors. 

Lillian, when she returned with Pipkins, seated her¬ 
self near her mother and sister, and joined in the gen¬ 
eral conversation, while the young gentleman himself 
relit his pipe, smoked harder than ever, and employed 
himself in “ meditations ” of the most decided kind. 
Matters were not in the precise shape to suit him, and 
he was endeavoring to decide himself as to how he was 
to right them. 

It was no easy matter to settle this point, for he could 
not but admit that his cousin Lillian had quite a will 
and temper of her own, and when she chose to assert it, 
she did it in a manner that was unmistakable. He had 
just had an exhibition that confirmed that point. 

In his wanderings to and fro, Jud Jenkins occasion¬ 
ally found time to saunter up to the camp of the fugi¬ 
tives and exchange a few words with them. 

It was about the middle of the afternoon when he 
seated himself near them, with the remark that it was 
one of the warmest days he had ever experienced, and 
he added: 


THE RED PLUME 


3 l8 

“ I am powerful glad of it, too.” 

“ I can’t say that I am,” replied Captain Swart- 
hausen. “ I don’t particularly enjoy this climate, either 
when the thermometer gets up close to a hundred, or 
down to twenty and thirty degrees below zero, as it 
did last winter.” 

“ I don’t say that I enj’y it either, but if there don’t 
come a reg’lar screamer of a storm, I don’t see much 
chance of getting off this place.” 

“ Ah! I understand. You think this will bring the 
storm.” 

“ Very likely; when you see such a hot day as this, 
so fur north, it’s purty sure to kick up a rumpus among 
the elements, and bring the rain and darkness.” 

“ We can do without the rain,” said Pipkins; “ but 
I understand that it is the darkness you want so bad.” 

“ Just that; but we won’t be likely to get one with¬ 
out t’other.” 

“ When I took my last peep at the sky, it seemed 
clear as at this morning,’’replied Captain Swarthausen. 

“ That don’t make no difference. If I am not mis¬ 
took, there will be one of the bigggest kind—” 

As if in confirmation of the declaration that was 
upon the lips of the scout, the faint rumble of distant 
thunder was heard at this moment, and the faces of all 
brightened on the instant. 

“ It’s coming, sure! ” added Jud. “ That’s what I 
have been waiting for for the last hour.” 

“ Do you observe that also ? ” asked the captain. 


THE RED PLUME 


3i9 


A breeze was heard stirring the branches overhead, 
and its grateful coolness even touched the perspiring 
faces of the fugitives below, and then came another 
faint muttering of thunder. 

“ It will be a terrible storm when it does come/’ said 
the officer; “the air is full of electricity. What’s 
that?” 

A dull, increasing roar was heard, like the coming of 
a tornado; but it lasted but a moment, when it termi¬ 
nated in a crash that seemed to shake the very ground 
upon which they stood. 

“ What under heavens can that be? ” asked Pipkins. 
“ It was somewhere on the island.” 

“ It’s a tree that fell—a tree that oughter stand a 
half a hundred years longer.” 

“ Why, then, did it fall ? ” 

“ ’Cause there’s a storm cornin’. You needn’t laugh; 
it’s allers so. I’ve laid in the woods many a time at 
night, and heard tree after tree come crashin’ to the 
ground, and nobody can’t tell what made ’em, ’cept the 
storm coming through the air.” 

“ But every tree must fall some time,” said Captain 
Swarthausen. 

“ I know as much pr’aps about the woods as any of 
you,” said the hunter, somewhat impatiently, “ and you 
can’t explain it that way. I’ve seen the thing too often. 
When a tree comes tearin’ down like that, in the middle 
of the day—and I’ll warrant you a dozen have fell 


320 


THE RED PLUME 


along shore—you can make up your mind that it's a 
sign of a powerful big storm. 

The scout had lingered as lpng as it was prudent, 
and he now left his friends and walked to the upper end 
of the island, scrutinized both shores, and then ex¬ 
amined the fallen tree, which was comparatively sound. 
From his position he could see far above and below 
upon each side of the stream, but nothing of a suspi¬ 
cious nature was detected, and he instinctively looked 
up the river. 

His experienced eye discovered something at once, 
but so far away that he could only conjecture its char¬ 
acter. At first it looked like some wild animal swim¬ 
ming down stream; then he mentally compared it to a 
canoe, bottom upward; but at last he resolved it into a 
sort of raft that was drifting with the current, and 
without any propulsive power of its own. 

But from the moment he first caught sight of it he 
was well convinced that it was some contrivance of that 
people who never appear at a loss for means to mislead 
and deceive their foes; and, accordingly, he kept his 
eye intently fixed upon it for a long, time, in the ex¬ 
pectation of detecting a flash of the water that might 
reveal the hand of the agent controlling it. 

However, no such evidence was discovered, and he 
concluded that if an enemy were really there, he was 
smart enough to give no tangible evidence of his pres¬ 
ence. 

Suspecting that this might be some artifice intended 


THE RED PLUME 


321 


to withdraw attention from the lower part of the island, 
old Jud called to Captain Swarthausen, and explained 
his apprehensions, requesting him to take his position 
at the lower point. This the officer willingly did, and 
Muggins received permission to accompany him. 

Convinced that it could now be done with safety, the 
hunter gave his whole attention to the approaching ob¬ 
ject, still looking for some sign of human agency in its 
movements, and still failing to detect any, except what 
might be termed a general evidence. 

Carried forward in the direction it was now going, it 
would be sure to strand itself upon the shingle at the 
upper end of the island—a termination of the voyage 
which a Sioux would not be likely to make. When, 
therefore, he observed it turning to the right, slowly 
but surely, he could no longer doubt the inspiring cause 
of the whole thing. 

Jud raised his rifle and examined the cap. 

“ It’s all right,” he muttered; “ when I begun this 
tramping business, I used the old flint-lock, and some 
of the Hudson Bay fellers stick to 'em yet. Only let 
me get a chance at the top-knot of this varmint, and I’ll 
spoil his fun for him.” 

A nearer approach revealed that the raft, or what¬ 
ever it might be termed, consisted of two trees, with 
their roots and limbs still to them. The latter seemed 
inextricably interlocked, and between these two the 
hunter was certain that at least one Indian was floating, 


322 


THE RED PLUME 


with his black orbs fixed upon the island, and with 
every faculty on the alert. 

As it came opposite the point where Jud was stand¬ 
ing, he walked down the shore, keeping concealed 
within the wood, but halting and peering out upon the 
nondescript every few minutes, until at last the lower¬ 
most part of the island was reached. 

Not once had a foe been seen; and as it passed on 
below the land, he still remained invisible. 

“ I’d like to know what he has larned,” muttered Jud, 
as he brought his rifle to his shoulder. “ Howsomever, 
I’ll show him that we ain’t fools in these parts.” 

With a quick aim he discharged his piece, burying 
the bullet in one of the logs, near the centre. He had 
‘scarcely done so, when the tufted head of an Indian 
rose to view, and he cast one long, searching look 
toward him, and disappear again between the trunks. 

The instant Jud caught sight of him he began re¬ 
loading as rapidly as posssible, but before he could 
place the percussion upon the tube, the Sioux had sunk 
down out of sight, and he was baffled again. 

“ You can go back and tell the others that there is 
one fool left here,” was the impatient exclamation of 
the hunter, at his own discomfiture. 

Had Red Plume been present he would not have re¬ 
mained on shore and contented himself with firing at 
the trees as they floated by. He would have dived un¬ 
der the logs and engaged the Sioux in a submarine 
hand-to-hand encounter, and the probability of their 


THE RED PLUME 


323 


being more than one to encounter would not have de¬ 
terred him for a moment. 

Old Jud had done such things himself, but as his 
years increased, he had acquired a certain degree of 
caution, which caused him to weigh an important 
action before undertaking it. He saw nothing to be 
gained by the mere “ sending under ” of a redskin, ex¬ 
cept so far as it should demonstrate the bravery of the 
fugitives. 

He kept the raft in view T as it slowly worked its way 
toward one of the banks, until finally it was lost to 
sight. 

Captain Swarthausen and Muggins had nothing to 
report, having detected nothing whatever of a suspi¬ 
cious character. 

But, unexpectedly, Fielding had a report to give. 
When the others were sent off as sentinels, he went to 
the eastern side of the island, (which was the less 
threatened side,) he, like old Jud, suspecting that this 
might be a stratagem to cover some other movement of 
the aborigines. 

At the moment the daring Sioux lifted his head and 
shoulders out of the water, and the hunter was reload¬ 
ing with all the speed possible, the Friend saw a large 
canoe glide a short distance under the bank, and then a 
dozen Indians filled it with the silence and celerity of 
phantoms. 

He suspected that they intended to seize their oppor¬ 
tunity and make a dash for the island while the atten- 


3 2 4 


THE RED PLUME 


tion of the fugitives was called in the other direction. 
But the rifle-shot of the hunter—over which he 
lamented as so useless—seemed to deter them, and they 
failed to make the start. 

Fielding never once took his eyes from the singular 
scene, and stood prepared to alarm the others the mo¬ 
ment it emerged from under the bushes. For several 
minutes they remained stationary, and then the canoe 
moved back again to its place, and every savage sprang 
out of it and disappeared. 

It was fortunate that this was done. But for the shot 
of Jud, it is probable that a dash would have been made 
for the island. While it is hardly probable that the 
Sioux would have succeeded in massacreing all the 
whites, as was their purpose, yet, in the desperate en¬ 
counter that would have been thus precipitated, it is 
hardly possible that each of our friends would have es¬ 
caped unharmed. It was, in truth, one of the lost 
opportunities for the aborigines, which could never 
again come to them in a similar shape. 

When old Jud learned the particulars from the 
Quaker, he complimented him on his keenness, and re¬ 
marked that there was still some hope of his becoming 
a tolerable hunter. 

“ What do you think of that? ” asked the scout, as he 
removed his cap, and allowed the stiffening breeze to 
blow upon his forehead. 

“ What do you mean ? ” asked Prescott. 

“ That is what I mean! ” 


THE RED PLUME 


325 


A regular rolling boom of thunder was heard almost 
directly overhead. The rapidly darkening sky gave 
the woods the appearance of twilight, while the wind 
blew almost without a second’s cessation. 

“ Will you go without Red Plume? ” asked Captain 
Swarthausen. 

“ I don’t want to,” was the hesitating reply. 

“ Suppose he doesn’t return for several hours after 
night sets in ? ” 

“ What’s the use of ’sposing any such thing? ” the 
hunter asked, petulantly. “ He’ll be back here inside of 
two hours, and he’ll be the guide in goin’ down the 
river to-night, and I’ll foller with the rest of you.” 

“ And with these noble red men that are waiting for 
us to start,” said Pipkins, perhaps revived by the re¬ 
freshing cool wind. 

“ Like enough,” replied Jud; “ you can be sartin 
they’ll foller powerful close if they think we’ve 
started.” 


CHAPTER XXX 


ADRIFT 

“ Night and storm, and darkness,” came together. 
The distant booming of the thunder increased, coming 
nearer and louder, until the clouds echoed the peals. 
The moon was entirely hid by the dark, tumultuous 
masses of vapor that swept over its face. The red 
lightning played back and forth through the black 
masses, illuminating them with a vividness tenfold 
greater than at noonday, while the advancing rain 
looked like the gleaming spears of an innumerable 
army. 

As night was closing in, and before the bursting of 
the storm, the scout had gathered his friends about him, 
and given them his ideas of what would be done during 
the coming night. The whole party, with the exception 
of Red Plume, were to embark in the larger boat. The 
Indian would take the lead in his canoe, acting as their 
pilot until all danger was passed. 

A general feeling of uneasiness manifested itself at 
the failure of Red Plume to appear, and Captain Swart- 
hausen advocated starting without him. But he was 
326 


THE RED PLUME 


3 2/ 


effectually silenced by the reply of the hunter, that if 
he were present at this time, no start could be made. 

He explained by calling attention to the lightning, 
which was almost incessant. 

To embark at such a time would insure the certainty 
of discovery from the Sioux, and failure would follow, 
no matter with what skill the attempt was conducted. 
So all that could be done was to wait until the lightning 
had ceased, or so slackened as to afford some oppor¬ 
tunity for flight. 

The boats were moored some distance away, and 
fearful that they might be blown loose, Jud passed over 
to look at them. 

He was almost too late; for as he came up, he saw 
that the larger boat was still fast, but the canoe had 
been torn free, and was already a dozen feet out in the 
river. 

This could not be permitted, and he plunged unhes¬ 
itatingly in after it. A few powerful strokes and he 
laid one hand upon the gunwale; but, as he did so, he 
became sensible that the other side was in the grasp of 
some one else, and the thought of another attempt to 
steal the boats flashed through his mind. 

The hunter was not unprepared for such a contest, 
and he reached down for his knife; but, at this instant, 
an exclamation acquainted him with the fact that he 
was confronted by Red Plume. 

Red Plume almost instantly came ashore, and the 


328 


THE RED PLUME 


two had an earnest conversation of several minutes, 
wherein the Indian revealed the following: 

There were between thirty and forty Sioux Indians, 
including the party who came from the lake, and they 
were inspired by the most vindictive ferocity, the desire 
of the majority being to massacre every one of the 
whites the moment they came into their power. There 
was so much risk in carrying prisoners, especially with 
Red Plume and old Jud free (for they looked upon it as 
impossible to secure them), that this seemed to be the 
only safe course; and, in case the fugitives were over¬ 
powered, there was little doubt but this course would be 
adopted. 

One of their chiefs and a number of their best war¬ 
riors having been slain, they could not give over the 
pursuit until these had been avenged. They had already 
been baffled so continually that their impatience can be 
readily understood, as well as the reason why a large 
number advocated a charge upon them, without waiting 
for darkness to assist them. They were the ones whom 
Fielding had seen enter the canoe, and who were only 
turned back by the sober second-thought which fol¬ 
lowed the firing of old Jud’s rifle. 

Red Plume had mingled with the Sioux until he had 
learned fully their intention, which, as has been inti¬ 
mated, was' to steal upon the island during the night, 
and massacre all of the fugitives. They did not forget 
the probability of their attempting flight in the dark- 


THE RED PLUME 


329 


ness, and they became remarkably alert with the de¬ 
parture of the day. 

The raft which floated by the island and drew the fire 
of old Jud was an artifice to discover whether the whites 
were vigilant enough to make an attack unsafe. The 
result was not satisfactory, and there was a movement 
to send one of the Indians and Lige with a demand for 
them to surrender, but with the real purpose of ascer¬ 
taining their prospective movements. 

These messengers had not yet appeared, but Red 
Plume believed they would come within the next half 
hour. The incessant play of the lightning kept up such 
an illumination of the river, that it would be impossible 
for a boat to leave without detection. 

When this announcement was made, Jud and Red 
Plume rejoined their friends, who, as may be supposed, 
were glad enough to see them both. An explanation 
was made of the dusky scout’s continued absence, and 
the probable coming of messengers from the shore. 

Then all were instructed that, if the messengers from 
the shore made their appearance, no means must be left 
untried to convince them that it was their intention to 
remain in their present quarters until the next day at 
least. 

The rain had almost ceased falling, but the flashing 
of the lightning was as incessant as ever. It had lost 
its fierce, explosive character, and now flickered and 
flamed, as it is sometimes seen to do when unaccom¬ 
panied by thunder. 


330 


THE RED PLUME 


Red Plume, Jud and Captain Swarthausen were 
watching from the shore, when the first announced that 
a canoe had left the mainland, and was approaching. A 
lightning flash, a second after, revealed a small boat, 
containing the negro Lige and an Indian, swiftly speed¬ 
ing across the breadth of water that intervened between 
the island and shore. 

It was allowed to approach undisturbed, until it 
reached land again, and Lige stepped out, while his 
companion retained his seat. 

The African stared about him for a moment, as if 
waiting for the vivid light to reveal his situation; and, 
at the instant it came, old Jud called out, in his gruff 
voice: 

“ What do you want? ” 

The negro started, and then took a few steps in the 
direction of the voice. 

“ Who am dar ? ” 

“ Old Jud. What be you after ? ” 

“ De In jins sent me ober to see you.” 

We need not give in detail the conversation that fol¬ 
lowed, in which Lige artfully endeavored to persuade 
the party to surrender. On Jud positively assuring 
him that they had no intention of doing so until they 
were made to, he next tried to find out whether they 
had any intention of leaving the island in the course of 
the night. Of course, Jud gave him to understand that 
this they had no intention of doing, as they would be 
in greater danger, he cunningly insinuated, from the 


THE RED PLUME 


33 1 


Indians on the river than on the island. Having ascer¬ 
tained all he had been sent over to find out, and Jud and 
Cato proceeding to cross-examine him rather unpleas¬ 
antly as to how he came to be in such high favor among 
the Indians, Lige, evidently ill at ease among his former 
friends, at every lightning flash edged nearer and 
nearer his canoe, until at last he entered it; and the 
next glance of him was in the boat, far out in the river, 
with the Indian paddling with all his strength and skill. 
They speedily rejoined their party, where no doubt a 
graphic account of the interview was given, with the 
emphatic assurance that the fugitives proposed remain¬ 
ing upon the island until the Sioux drove them from it. 

They had nothing left to do except to await the time 
with patience when Red Plume should give the word 
to start. 

Some excitement was created at this juncture by 
hearing the Sioux signalling to each other. 

The general belief was that these calls were intended 
to apprise each party of the other’s intentions, which 
meant a simultaneous advance upon the fugitives from 
both sides; but Red Plume, being appealed to, greatly 
relieved all by assuring them that nothing of the kind 
was meant. They were meant to satisfy the leaders of 
the Sioux that their followers were on the alert and 
ready for any movement. 

A half hour passed, when the signalling among the 
Indians having by this time ceased, Red Plume gave 
the word for all to be ready to enter the boat, being 


33 2 


THE RED PLUME 


careful not to do so before the permission was received, 
while he started on a hasty survey of the island to learn 
whether any of the aborigines had landed. 

Not a gleam of lightning lit up the Stygian gloom as 
he stealthily made his way through the saturated under¬ 
growth, but his ears were as alive as those of the pan¬ 
ther, and the dip of a paddle would have aroused his 
attention at once. 

Nothing, however, was discovered, and he rejoined 
his friends, and gave the word, and the next instant the 
boats swept out into the current, and the eventful jour¬ 
ney down the river was resumed. 

Above, below, behind, in front, and on either hand, 
all was blank darkness. The Crescent River, swelled 
by the storm, flowed swiftly down on its winding way 
toward the snowy waters of Hudson Bay; the wild 
wind howled and moaned from the woods along the 
shore, and not a star was overhead to guide them on the 
way. 

It was too late to turn back, even had they wished to 
do so. The Rubicon was crossed. Before them lay 
safety or death. 

Which was it? 


i 


CHAPTER XXXI 


DOWN THE RIVER 

Those were critical moments to the fugitives. Not 
a word was spoken, even in whispers, and every heart 
was praying that this midnight blackness of the heav¬ 
ens might continue for an hour more, or until the 
swiftly flowing river had carried them beyond all dan¬ 
ger of the Sioux, who were waiting so eagerly for their 
prey. 

So dense was the gloom that not one in the larger 
boat could discern the canoe of Red Plume, that was 
scarcely a dozen feet in advance. 

Old Jud stood upright in the bow, with one of the 
oars in hand, but even he was unable to make out the 
form of his guide in front. The Indian now and then 
made a slight plash with his oar, and by this sound 
alone was the hunter guided. 

While it was desirable to gain all the speed possible, 
yet the boats drifted with the current only. Little help 
could be gained by the use of the oars, while there was 
imminent risk of the sound betraying them to the In¬ 
dians, who were undoubtedly on the river at that very 
moment, somewhere in the immediate neighborhood. 

With every rod passed, the hopes of our friends rose 
333 


334 


THE RED PLUME 


Still the boats and their precious cargoes swept 
swiftly down stream, and still the utter blackness of 
night continued. Afar in the sky there had been one 
or two of the faintest flickers of lightning, but they 
were mere scintillations upon the great world of dark¬ 
ness below, scarcely penetrating the margin itself. 

The wind blew very gently, and every ear was 
strained to the utmost for the sounds dreaded above all 
others. When this silence rested upon all, a faint, 
tremulous whistle—so faint and uncertain in its char¬ 
acter, indeed, that more than one of those who heard it 
believed it came from the air above them—floated to 
them on the night air, and brought with it the chill 
which one feels at the sure signal of some swiftly ap¬ 
proaching peril. 

At this moment, when none of the company expected 
it, a powerful, all-pervading flash seemed to set the 
whole atmosphere a-flame—shore, river and woods 
standing out with the distinctness of mid-day. Every 
breath was suspended and every arm paralyzed for the 
moment. So sudden was the gleam that neither Red 
Plume nor old Jud gained a glimpse of the river in the 
rear—the place from which the danger was appre¬ 
hended. 

And out of all the party there was but one who saw 
the river behind them. That one was Lillian Prescott, 
who by accident was gazing backward toward the is¬ 
land, and who, in the blaze of the lightning, discerned 
two canoes of Indians between her own boat and the 



Old Judd cried out, in his gruff voice : “What do you want?” 

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THE RED PLUME 


335 

island with both of them headed down stream and com¬ 
ing in a direct line toward them. 

Old Jud asked in a cautious whisper: 

“ Did any of you see anything of the varmints? ” 

Lillian deemed it was time for her to say something, 
and while the others breathlessly listened, she stated 
that she had observed two large canoes full of Indians 
but a short distance astern, coming directly after them. 

“ Qu’ar,” he remarked. “ You’re sure there ain’t 
no mistake about it ? ” 

The girl could be nothing else but certain. 

Old Jud in his cautious way acquainted Red Plume 
with what Lillian had said. The hunter had observed 
previous to this, that the Indian was gradually shying 
off toward the left, and he was compelled to use his 
paddle with considerable power; but now the savage 
backed until the boats touched, and then stooping 
down, Jud grasped the stern of the little boat, and the 
redskin began using his paddle stealthily, but with a 
power which was felt by all. 

He kept turning toward the left; for, if the Sioux 
were so close at hand, the only safety of the fugitives 
consisted in keeping concealed in the friendly darkness. 
Their enemies, not knowing where to look for them, 
would be far more likely to miss than to encounter 
them. 

Another fact was observed at this time by the more 
experienced of the party, and it could not but increase 
their uneasiness. Since the cessation of the storm the 


33^ 


THE RED PLUME 


sky had begun to clear in a measure, and there was 
every prospect that there would soon be sufficient light 
to see objects on either shore from the centre of the 
river. 

After paddling for a few minutes in this manner, the 
fugitives noticed the dark outlines of the trees upon 
the western bank. 

Having reached this point, Red Plume now rested on 
his oars, and they all drifted with the current again. 
As yet he had gained no idea of the location of his 
enemies, except what was received from Lillian, and he 
placed implicit reliance in what she had affirmed to old 
Jud. 

Laying his boat alongside of the larger one, the In¬ 
dian exchanged a few words with the hunter, explana¬ 
tory of his intentions, and then he vanished in the dark¬ 
ness, his purpose being to learn the whereabouts of the 
Sioux. 

Old Jud shoved the boat a little further out into the 
stream, so as to be beyond danger of striking the shore, 
and then sat down where he could say a word or two to 
those near him. After a little pause, passed in con¬ 
jectures as to the result of Red Plume’s hazardous ex¬ 
periment, the sharp ears of the hunter detected some 
suspicious sound out in the river, and after attentively 
looking out in that direction, they all had the pleasure of 
seeing the little canoe coming out of the darkness with 
the single Indian propelling it. 

The Sioux did not approach any closer to his friends, 
but taking a position a rod or so in advance, waited for 


THE RED PLUME 


337 


the others to follow. Old Jud thought this rather sin¬ 
gular, as he was quite anxious to hear his report of the 
situation; but he knew there was reason for it, and it 
looked as though there was a necessity for haste. 

Accordingly the hunter plied his paddle with all the 
skill and power at his command. This had no great 
effect upon the boat with its large freight, but it served 
to give it the direction which was necessary. 

Instead of keeping to the left bank, Red Plume 
headed diagonally across the stream, so as to strike the 
right shore. Old Jud followed him as dutifully as a 
dog ever followed his master, but he felt at the same 
time that there was great risk in attempting to cross a 
stream like this, when it was well known that a treach¬ 
erous enemy was at no great distance. 

The river was nearly crossed, when a short, wolf¬ 
like whoop, came from the shore they had just left, and 
Red Plume replied to it in precisely the same tone. 

This diagonal direction Red Plume continued until 
he had approached almost near enough to the shore to 
touch it, when he began floating down stream as before. 

Old Jud was confident now, that the Indian would 
row back to him, and give him some idea of the move¬ 
ments of their enemies; but, to his annoyance and sur¬ 
prise, he still kept his distance. 

After drifting a half hour or so, old Jud began to 
feel somewhat impatient, and he gave the canoe a shove 
or two, as a hint for Red Plume that time was getting 
too precious to waste in this manner; but the Sioux 
paid no heed to the movement, and he and his boat 


338 


THE RED PLUME 


floated along as though they were part and parcel of 
each other. 

Prescott, who was sitting near Jud, heard him mutter 
to himself: 

“ It’s powerful queer what’s got into Red Plume to¬ 
night.” 

At this moment they reached the mouth of quite a 
broad creek, which put into the Crescent River from the 
right shore. It had quite a moderate current, showing 
that, although it discharged a large volume of water, 
there was but a slight fall in it. 

As soon as the mouth of this was encountered the 
Indian turned his canoe, and began paddling up stream, 
pausing, after he had taken a few strokes, to beckon to 
old Jud to follow him. 

The hunter did so unhesitatingly, but with a misgiv¬ 
ing for which he could scarcely account. Going in 
opposition to the current, he was enabled to make com¬ 
paratively little headway, and Red Plume seemed some¬ 
what impatient, frequently paddling a short distance 
in a circular direction, and then signalling to the fugi¬ 
tives to follow. 

“ There must be danger,” said Prescott, “ or he 
would not be in such a hurry.” 

Old Jud made no reply; but those who were watch¬ 
ing him at that moment saw him suddenly lay down 
his paddle, and as suddenly catch up his rifle. The 
next instant it was discharged, and their Indian guide 
threw up his arms with a fearful shriek, shot through 
the heart by the bullet of the hunter. 


CHAPTER XXXII 


SIOUX VERSUS SIOUX 

It would be impossible to describe the consternation 
produced by the shot of old Jud. Prescott excitedly 
sprang to his feet. 

“ My God! you have killed Red Plume! ” 

The hunter was then engaged in sweeping the bow of 
the canoe around, and hastening the boat back out of 
the creek which they had entered; but he turned his 
head so as to reply. 

“ Killed Red Plume! ” he repeated, in the husky 
voice of passion; “ that ain’t Red Plume—it’s one of 
the varmints trying to lead us into a trap! ” 

A shudder of terror shook all at this astounding 
declaration, and the hunter bent furiously to his task. 

“ Where is Red Plume then? ” asked Captain Swart- 
hausen, as soon as he could recover himself. 

“ I don’t know, and haint got time to think; but 
I’m sartin that if we don’t git out here powerful soon, 
there won’t be a scalp left among us. So don’t bother 
me with any more questions.” 

And paying no heed to the surmisings of his friends, 
he turned his whole attention to the arduous work be¬ 
fore him, and, with the assistance of the current, soon 
339 


34 ° 


THE RED PLUME 


gives quite a rapid motion to the boat. Debouching 
into the river, he turned down stream, and continued 
his progress at a rate which all of the company would 
have deemed impossible until they saw it done. 

It will be remembered that old Jud was perplexed at 
the action of the Indian who took the place of Red 
Plume, but his suspicion was not fairly awakened until 
the entering of the creek. Then he was close enough 
to observe that the red plume which distinguished his 
friend, and which he had worn so many years that it 
gave him his appellation, was wanting! 

Instantly the thought of treachery entered his mind, 
and by a powerful movement he approached nigh 
enough to the canoe to gain a fair view of its occu¬ 
pant. The result of this deliberation was such as to 
make him certain of the trick that was attempted upon 
him, and in the prompt manner mentioned he gave the 
daring Sioux his quietus. 

This singular interchange of canoes came about in 
this manner: 

When the lightning gleam revealed the Indian canoe 
to Lillian Prescott, the boat containing the fugitives 
was also seen by the Sioux themselves. Not only that, 
but they detected Red Plume in his canoe, acting as 
guide. With the readiness peculiar to the aborigines, 
one of the latter instantly originated a stratagem, 
which, if carried through with nerve and skill, could 
not fail to result in the destruction of the whole party. 

This plan was simply to substitute himself in the 


THE RED PLUME 


34 r 


place of Red Plume, without attracting the suspicion of 
the whites. 

The major part of the Sioux were upon terra firma, 
while about a dozen were searching the river in their 
large canoe. These put into shore, where a smaller 
canoe was secured, into which the daring Indian ven¬ 
tured, and then went out upon the river to await his 
chance. 

It was at this juncture that the vigilant Indian dis¬ 
covered one of the tiny vessels crossing the stream in 
front of him, and a little cautious manoeuvring re¬ 
vealed the interesting fact that it was the renowned Red 
Plume himself, probably engaged in reconnoitring the 
river, and who had so narrowly missed coming upon 
the Sioux. 

The savage made his companions acquainted with 
the condition of things, stated his proposed plan of 
operations, and then crossed boldly over to the other 
shore to take the place of Red Plume. 

We have shown how cleverly this was done, and how 
it all but succeeded. It was the intention of the In¬ 
dians to decoy the fugitives up this creek quite a dis¬ 
tance, to the base of a series of rapids, where those upon 
shore had congregated, and were waiting, prepared to 
massacre them all. 

Our friends had actually entered the mouth of the 
creek, as we have already shown, when the suspicious 
appearance of the head-gear of the guide awakened the 
apprehensions of old Jud, and the stratagem, so nearly 
successful, was discovered. __ . . 


34* 


THE RED PLUME 


No doubt the Sioux were confident that they had 
successfully played a sharp trick upon their old enemy, 
Red Plume; but, before the matter was ended, they 
were compelled to modify their opinion. 

When our dusky hero shot across the river, so close 
to the redskins that the single one in the canoe detected 
him, the discovery was mutual; and when this daring 
enemy turned toward the other shore, Red Plume sus¬ 
pected what game was up, and followed him far enough 
to make sure of his purpose. 

“Very good,” reflected the former; “if my brother 
takes the place of Red Plume, then will Red Plume take 
the place of his brother.” 

And he came back and unhesitatingly put himself in 
the advance of the hostile canoe. The occupants of the 
latter very naturally were surprised at this unexpected 
return of their champion, and made several inquiries as 
to the cause. Red Plume replied, that the whole party 
of fugitives were descending the stream, but that the 
time had not yet come for the exchange of situations. 
He had little fear of detection, and managed his case so 
well that no suspicions were excited. 

The interchange of signals, and the action of the 
Sioux when opposite the mouth of the creek alluded to, 
gave Red Plume an inkling of the plan for the massa¬ 
cre of the fugitives, and he therefore did his utmost to 
draw them beyond the place. This required consider¬ 
able delicacy and skill, but he succeeded at last, with 
the assurance that they would speedily return. A grim 


THE RED PLUME 


343 


smile of triumph lit up his face as he saw his enemies 
drawn away from their prey. 

Having drawn the Sioux away from the creek, Red 
Plume conducted them a considerable distance down 
stream, when he again left them, under the pretence of 
making another attempt to secure the situation of guide 
for the fugitives. 

In spite of the confident assurance of old Jud, as he 
plied his paddle, more than one of his companions had 
serious misgivings of its truth—not of the sincerity of 
his belief; but there was the shuddering fear that an 
awful mistake had been committed. 

Great, therefore, was their relief, when the genuine 
Red Plume suddenly shot out of the darkness and laid 
his canoe alongside the larger boat. 

A few words passed between old Jud and Red 
Plume, and all was understood. 

“The varmints are right below us,” said the former 
to his companions, as he turned the bow of the boat 
across stream again, and renewed his labor with the 
paddle. 

There was a gradual increase of the moonlight which 
was perceptible to all, and which kept their fears con¬ 
stantly alive, and caused more than one anxious glance 
back upon the river. 

The two parties were now so close to each other that 
it seemed impossible that they should much longer re¬ 
main invisible. Sensible of this, both Red Plume and 
old Jud approached the other shore with great care. 


344 


THE RED PLUME 


Here they were under the disadvantage of moving in 
a much slower current, which was more than compen¬ 
sated by the increased likelihood of escaping discovery; 
but the danger of this was so imminent that at Red 
Plume’s suggestion, those who possessed rifles held 
them ready for instant use. 

Providentially, the result of Red Plume’s stratagem 
was a greater success than he had dared to hope. When 
he left the Sioux upon the other side of the river they 
drifted slowly downward awaiting his coming, and 
growing somewhat impatient at what, to them, was a 
causeless delay. 

But as the time wore heavily away, and naught was 
seen of either Red Plume or their own warrior, a vague 
idea of something wrong began gradually filtering into 
their brains, and they finally turned about and pursued 
their way up stream again. 

As they did so, a sort of wailing whoop was heard 
from the direction of the creek, and they paddled rap¬ 
idly in that direction. At the mouth of the stream they 
met a canoe containing three warriors, beside a fourth, 
who was stark dead and stiff from the shot of old Jud. 

The Indians at the rapids had become uneasy at the 
delay, and several of them, shortly after the dim report 
of the rifle, began moving down the banks of the stream 
to give notice of the coming of the boat. A consider¬ 
able distance away, they caught sight of the canoe drift¬ 
ing with the current. They could see the form of an 
Indian in it, but his head was bowed on his breast, and 


THE RED PLUME 


345 


there was a stone-like quiet about him which was ex¬ 
tremely suggestive. One of the Sioux swam out to 
him, when the truth became speedily known. 

The Sioux saw that they had been out-generalled, 
but they could not fail to understand that the fugitives, 
in all probability, were below them in the river, strain¬ 
ing every nerve to reach Fort Grandon ahead of them. 
Accordingly, they loaded the two canoes with all that 
they would contain, and leaving the others upon the 
shore, started in pursuit. 

Sensible of the value of time, Red Plume permitted 
no further delay in the progress of the boat. Hitherto 
there had been no thought of raising the sail, as with 
their enemies anywhere in the vicinity, such a conspicu¬ 
ous object would have insured discovery; but that ob¬ 
jection had vanished with the widening distance be¬ 
tween pursuer and pursued, and when Captain Swart- 
hausen proposed it to Jud, he replied: 

“ Just what I war goin’ to do.” 

“ Does Red Plume think it advisable? ” 

“ He told me to do it, some time ago.” 

It required but a few minutes to put the mast in posi¬ 
tion and elevate the sail. There was quite a brisk wind 
sweeping down the river, so that all circumstances were 
favorable, and the fugitives swept southward at a much 
greater rate than the powerful limbs of the hunter could 
drive them with the paddle. 

So soon as they were fairly under way Red Plume 
again left his friends, and glided ahead and out into the 


346 


THE RED PLUME 


river, where he would be more likely to detect the ap¬ 
proach of danger. 

Old Jud, pretty well exhausted from his great labor, 
seated himself upon the gunwale for a breathing spell. 
The night was warm and close, and the cool air, as it 
fanned their faces, was refreshingly pleasant. 

The boats proceeded rapidly onward, and our friends 
passed the time in conjectures as to what the coming 
day would bring forth, when all at once Red Plume 
made a low whistle, which old Jud said was an admoni¬ 
tion of silence, and accordingly, all conversation, even 
in whispers, was forbidden. 

Shortly after, the fugitives swept round quite an 
abrupt bend in the river, and immediately caught the 
star-like glimmer of a fire, apparently from the very 
centre of the river. The hunter instantly lowered the 
sail, and despite the prohibition of Red Plume, he 
whispered to his friends: 

“ There’s another island, and there be a lot of the var¬ 
mints upon it.” 

Red Plume instructed his friends to lie idle in the 
stream until he could learn whether it was safe to at¬ 
tempt to pass by the island or not. As it was still a 
considerable distance away, it was not deemed best to 
obey this order literally, and so he contented himself 
with merely taking down the sail and allowing the boat 
to drift with the current. 

During the absence of their guide, old Jud occupied 
himself in scanning the suspicious fire-light, to see 


THE RED PLUME 


347 


whether any signs of human beings could be detected 
near it. 

The fire burned with a steady glare, which looked as 
if it had been replenished recently; but, closely as he 
looked, he could detect nothing of any figures passing 
before it. 

In the course of a half hour Red Plume and his canoe 
emerged from the darkness, and he and old Jud had a 
few minutes’ earnest converse. The guide had even 
landed upon the island, and made a thorough examina¬ 
tion of it. The result was the discovery of a dozen 
Sioux, all stretched out and sound asleep by the fire. 
He could only conjecture what it meant, and that con¬ 
jecture was that they were a portion of a party, await¬ 
ing the return of the others. 

After considerable hesitation, it was decided, in view 
of the great importance of getting forward without 
further delay, to make the attempt to sail by the island 
during the darkness, and without learning whether any 
of their enemies were watching along shore. 


CHAPTER XXXIII 


RED PLUME'S JOURNEY 

The hunter carefully hoisted the sail again and tak¬ 
ing advantage of the favoring breeze, the boat was soon 
gliding smoothly and rapidly down the river. 

It was arranged that, as before, Red Plume should 
keep the lead, and that old Jud should follow the centre 
of the stream, between the island and mainland. By 
doing this they gained the additional impetus of the 
current, and at the same time did not approach too 
closely the shore, where, after all, the real danger may 
have lain. 

For the purpose of greater safety all, excepting the 
hunter himself, lowered their heads below the gunwale 
of the boat, as they neared the glowing camp-fire. As 
the sides were not of sufficient thickness to be bullet¬ 
proof, no immunity from danger was secured by this 
artifice, except in so far as it might deceive any foes 
into the belief that the vessel was devoid of all occu¬ 
pants, save the fearless scout, who sat bolt upright in 
the bow, directing by word Captain Swarthausen how 
to steer. 

It requires no ordinary nerve for a man to remain ex¬ 
posed to a secret shot, disdaining to adopt the ordinary 
348 


THE RED PLUME 


349 


means of safety, of which his companions are only too 
glad to avail themselves. 

But old Jud never flinched, as, impelled by wind and 
the increasing current, the boat shot swiftly forward 
into the narrow channel, on the right of the camp-fire. 
From his position he could see the dark figures of the 
Indians stretched out as motionless as death, and 
whether all this unconsciousness was assumed or not, 
was a matter which would soon be settled. 

Red Plume was already below the camp-fire, and old 
Jud reflected that, whatever occurred, his safety was 
secured. 

He looked intently in toward the shore as they went 
past, but the same impressive stillness continued, and 
the next moment he drew a sigh of relief as he saw the 
lower extremity of the island glide backward, and had 
the satisfaction of knowing the dangerous point was 
passed. 

There was a general congratulation when the fugi¬ 
tives were safely beyond this danger, and Prescott re¬ 
marked that all were indeed in God’s special keeping. 

Out again upon the dark river, with their faces 
turned southward, and the stiff breeze bowling them 
along at a rapid rate, the prospects of our friends 
greatly brightened, and a feeling of cheerfulness per¬ 
vaded all. 

Several of the party took occasion to indulge in slum¬ 
ber, while those who did not, chatted and talked the 
hours away, until Red Plume awaited the approach of 


35° 


THE RED PLUME 


old Jud, and informed him that daylight was so close 
at hand that they would be compelled to lie-by until 
night again. 

Some distance further down stream was a small 
creek, up which the scouts would have been glad to run 
the canoe; but the time was too short to permit, and old 
Jud accordingly put in shore, and unshipped his sail. 

The stoppage aroused all the passengers, who were 
naturally alarmed until the cause was explained. 

It was necessary that the boat should be entirely hid 
from the view of any who were passing up or down the 
river. Accordingly, it was drawn clear up the bank, so 
far indeed that there was no possibility of its being de¬ 
tected or stolen, unless by overcoming those who had it 
in charge. 

Here it was made into a sort of couch for the females, 
who were thus given the opportunity to stretch their 
limbs, and enjoy a few hours’ quiet sleep—a luxury 
which, from the force of circumstances, had been de¬ 
nied them while descending the river. 

All, excepting the hunters, stretched themselves out 
upon the leafy ground, where they were permitted sev¬ 
eral hours of undisturbed repose, while old Jud and 
Red Plume acquainted themselves with the peculiarities 
of their position. 

Another matter now forced itself upon the attention 
of all. They had been a long time without food, and 
the question was as to how the means was to be ob¬ 
tained for breaking this enforced fast. 


THE RED. PLUME 


35i 


Old Jud relieved their minds on this point by inform¬ 
ing them that, while they had been reposing, Red 
Plume had gone off in his boat for the double purpose 
of seeing what he could do toward obtaining some 
food, and also of reconnoitring. They had not very 
long to wait before a soft ripple plashed on the beach, 
and down through the interstices of the bushes the 
canoe of Red Plume was seen to glide against the shore, 
and the Sioux stepped out, picking up several large 
birds from the bottom of the boat. 

After drawing the boat up the bank, he made his way 
up among his waiting friends, when it was discovered 
that the birds in his hand were cooked! 

None the less enthusiastic for being subdued were the 
exclamations which followed this discovery. The 
Sioux, appreciating the danger of starting a fire in this 
portion of the wood, had prepared the meal a goodly 
distance away, and then brought it to them by water, 
doing it with a skill which shut off all possibility of pur¬ 
suit. 

The birds were large, plump and luscious, and al¬ 
though they made rather a moderate meal, it was suf¬ 
ficient, and most keenly appreciated by all who partook 
of it. 

While considerable pleasure was produced by the ad¬ 
mirable meal furnished by their guide, yet he brought 
other tidings that produced far different feelings. 
When he first started out, he had serious intentions of 
making his way to Fort Grandon, not to procure help— 


35 2 


THE RED PLUME 


for he was too proud to ask that—but to learn the most 
advisable route by which to reach it. 

He had gone but a short distance, when he turned 
back, satisfied that there was no way possible of going 
to the fort during the day-time. Less than a mile away, 
he came upon a farm-house which had been recently 
burned, while the family, numbering seven individuals, 
lay partly in the house and partly out of doors, mangled 
in a manner too revolting to describe. There were signs 
which showed that all this had taken place within 
twenty-four hours; and the Sioux were ranging over 
all the surrounding country in their relentless search 
for the unoffending settlers. 

Under these circumstances, it would be impossible 
for a party of the number of the fugitives to make their 
way, either through the wood or by water, without at¬ 
tracting attention. Between their present location and 
the fort was a large portion of open, settled country, 
across which it would be a difficult matter for a single 
person to make his way without detection. 

Had there been any opportunity of succeeding, it 
was the intention of Red Plume to attempt to reach the 
fort by a circuitous route through the woods; but he 
saw no chance at all, and it was decided to remain 
where they were until nightfall, when the journey 
would be resumed. 

Noon came and passed without anything of note tak¬ 
ing place; but at that time, Red Plume, who was con¬ 
stantly on the move, came in with the dispiriting in- 


THE RED PLUME 


353 


formation that their old enemies—the lake party—were 
descending the river. 

They had probably been searching along shore for 
them which explained their delay. He said there were 
three canoes of them, and in the foremost was the negro 
Lige. 

The Sioux descended the river quite cautiously, 
showing plainly by their manner that they were on the 
look-out for “signs.” It is scarcely necessary to say 
that they discovered none, and in the course of an hour, 
vanished around a bend in the appropriately named 
Crescent River. 

Shortly after their disappearance, several signals 
were heard, which looked as if they were in communi¬ 
cation with some of their kindred on shore. 

Nothing more was seen or heard of the party, and 
early in the afternoon Red Plume left the company with 
the declared purpose of visiting Fort Grandon and 
learning as nearly as possible the precise character of 
the intervening ten miles which lay between them and 
safety. 

The afternoon passed drearily enough to those who 
were left along the river. Occasional intimations were 
received of the proximity of their enemies, but they re¬ 
mained undisturbed until nightfall. 

We will follow Red Plume, who, toward dusk, was 
a mile or two distant, speeding upward in his canoe. 
He had reached and entered Fort Grandon, and was 
thus far on his return. Having made his journey en- 


354 


THE RED PLUME 


tirely by land, he had secured a canoe, and was now 
making all haste to rejoin the fugitives, who he well 
knew were so anxiously looking for him. 

He had incurred considerable risk, both in going and 
coming, but by concealing his scarlet plume, he suffered 
little delay in making his way through the hordes of 
redskins that appeared to overrun the entire country. 

As yet he had seen nothing of the old enemies of the 
lake, and he was looking for them. A mile or two be¬ 
low the spot where the fugitives were in waiting, he 
came upon them, their canoes resting against the bank, 
while they appeared to have been joined by quite a 
number of others, and were holding some sort of a jolli¬ 
fication, most likely over some massacre in which they 
had found an opportunity of joining. 

Red Plume had replaced his ornamental head ap¬ 
pendage, so that there could be no mistaking his iden¬ 
tity, and paddling out to the middle of the river, in 
plain view of them all, he stood up in his canoe and ut¬ 
tered a shout of defiance. 

“ Dogs of the Sioux! why did you not prevent the pale 
faces from going away in the night to Fort Grandon ? 
Red Plume cares nothing for you!” 

With which he sat down in his boat again, and tak¬ 
ing his paddle resumed his course up the stream. But 
this taunt was not taken in meekness. An angry whoop 
was sent back, and a half dozen sprang in the nearest 
canoe and started in pursuit. 

Red Plume allowed them to approach quite close, 


THE RED PLUME 


355 


and then raising his rifle took deliberate aim at one of 
the redskins and shot him dead. Then he plied his pad¬ 
dle with such skill that he gained rapidly upon them, 
and firing their useless guns, they turned about and re¬ 
treated, followed by his taunts and whoops of defiance. 

Old Jud had heard and recognized the report of Red 
Plume’s gun and, as may be supposed, had no little 
curiosity to understand what it meant; but as there was 
no return shot, everything looked favorable to his 
dusky friend, and he awaited his coming with very little 
apprehension as to his welfare. 

The scout came in his cautious and quiet manner, 
and was among the fugitives before they knew it, old 
Jud being the only one who saw him as his canoe ap¬ 
proached. 

All were anxious to go, and impatiently awaited the 
decision of their dusky friend. 

When all declared their readiness to start, they were 
surprised by learning that the remaining ten miles were 
to be made by land. Red Plume showed the impossi¬ 
bility of avoiding the Sioux on the river, on account of 
the bright moonlight. The peril was hardly less by 
overland, but they had no other choice, and it was 
taken. 

They started in the same order as before, Red Plume 
taking the lead, while a considerable distance behind 
him came old Jud at the head of the party. As it was 
necessary for the Indian, while their way led through 
the wood, to keep so far ahead as to be invisible, it was 


356 


THE RED PLUME 


arranged that he should communicate with the hunter 
by means of signals. 

All being ready, the fugitives started, beseeching 
kind Heaven still to lead them through the dangerous 
wilderness. 


CHAPTER XXXIV 


THE OVERLAND ROUTE 

The moon shone with unclouded splendor, and but 
for the shadow of the. trees, the fugitives would have 
found little difference between the night and day. 

They moved quite rapidly until several miles were 
travelled, when unexpectedly the wood terminated, and 
they found themselves upon the margin of the open 
country. 

From where they stood, the land sloped up for a con¬ 
siderable distance, so that it was as if they were^at the 
bottom of a large hill. Up this they began walking, 
Red Plume still at their head. 

Reaching the top they found that the prairie was of 
the undulating or rolling character, and that within a 
few hundred yards of them were the ruins of a farm 
house. In the bright moonlight they plainly distin¬ 
guished the blackened ruins, telling impressively of the 
fearful scenes that had taken place but a short time be¬ 
fore. 

Halting but a few minutes, Red Plume started on, 
leading his friends a few rods to one side of it. The 
chimney had been made of stone, and stood silent and 
blackened, pointing mutely to heaven as if indicating 
357 


THE RED PLUME 


35 8 

the only refuge at such a time as this. A rough mass 
of charred logs and boards, told only where a home 
with its happy inmates formerly stood. 

There were the outbuildings that had shared the 
same fate, the garden and the fields of corn and grain 
trampled by the infuriated redskins in their eager work 
—all these bore witness to the terrible devastation 
sweeping over Minnesota, and to the necessity of the 
strong military arm to drive it back. 

Our friends gazed upon these dismal ruins for a few 
minutes only, and then they started down a sort of 
rough road, formerly used by the farmers of this region 
in going to the fort, or to the steamboat landing further 
down the river. This, however, was soon deserted, as 
there was manifestly great danger in following it. 

The Indian, silent and stern, held his place a rod or 
so in advance, scarcely ever looking over his shoulder 
to see whether he was followed, while old Jud strode 
after him with his long rifle in hand, his keen eyes dart¬ 
ing from side to side, and behind him came Captain 
Swarthausen, Muggins, and the rest of the party, 
scarcely less watchful and observing than he. 

Their way for the most part led through cultivated 
fields, but they had progressed less than a mile, when 
they came in sight of a small house, which had evi¬ 
dently been the scene of a fierce resistance. It was only 
partially burned, and the fences and vegetation form¬ 
erly surrounding it were all levelled with the ground. 
The windows were all broken in, as is sometimes seen 


THE RED PLUME 


359 


when the walls of a building have been saved from the 
fire; and brave as was the conduct of the defenders, 
they had been forced to succumb at last. 

While yet some distance from this, the party halted 
in obedience to the stopping of Red Plume, who seemed 
to look upon the battered structure with some distrust. 
Standing in the open field, he beckoned to the hunter to 
approach, while he requested the others to remain where 
they were until his return. 

“ He thinks that very likely some of the varmints be 
there,” he said, a few minutes later when he walked 
back and rejoined them. 

“ Why not avoid the house by taking altogether a dif¬ 
ferent route ? ” asked the captain. 

“ We’ll run into worse places—so we’ll wait here till 
he finds out for himself.” 

“ Look! ” exclaimed Pipkins, pointing toward the 
building. 

All eyes were turned thitherward, and in the clear 
moonlight two figures were seen to issue from the door, 
and walk toward them. 

“ Do those Indians see us ? ” asked the wonder- 
stricken Prescott. 

“ They are coming to meet Red Plume.” 

“ What does it mean ? ” 

“ One of ’em is an In jin and the other a white 
man.” 

The listeners were more mystified than ever. There 
was a significant smile upon the face of the hunter, as 
he said: 


3<5o 


THE RED PLUME 


“ The redskin is the Otter; and the white man—wall, 
take a good look at him, and make him out for your¬ 
selves.” 

“ He has quite a resemblance to my nephew, Colonel 
Havens,” said Captain Swarthausen, “ but, of course, 
it cannot be he.” 

“ That’s jist who it is,” replied old Jud. 

“ Impossible! he is far away—” 

“ Only a couple of rods or so.” 

“ But it cannot—” 

The two personages were now conversing with Red 
Plume; and to settle the question of the identity of one 
of them, Captain Swarthausen abruptly walked toward 
the trio, while the others watched him with an interest 
difficult to imagine. 

They heard the exclamation of surprise, and then 
saw the captain shaking the hand of the young man; 
and then they knew that the hunter had spoken the 
truth, and they were astounded. 

Almost instantly the parties mingled, and there was 
a handshaking all round. 

“ Just as I suspected,” laughed Captain Swarthausen, 
taking upon himself the duty of explaining to the 
others the singular appearance of his nephew among 
them. “ When he was on the point of starting, there 
came an order countermanding the other, and instruct¬ 
ing him to .wait where he was until further orders were 
received.” 

“ How was it that Red Plume reported him absent 
when he visited the fort ? ” inquired Prescott. 


THE RED PLUME 


361 


“ So he was; but he learned that he was in the neigh¬ 
borhood of the fort, and was expected in every minute; 
and Red Plume told the Otter by what route he was go¬ 
ing to bring us in, if he brought us in at all. Shortly 
after, Colonel Havens returned, and learned the whole 
particulars, and he and the Otter started out to inter¬ 
cept us.” 

“ And did Jud know of this? ” inquired Prescott. 

“ He knew that the colonel was near the fort, but he 
didn’t think it best to notify us, for fear that there 
might be a disappointment. Isn’t that so, Jud? ” 

The hunter replied in the affirmative, and a general 
smile passed round. 

When Lillian Prescott comprehended that Colonel 
Havens really stood before her, she could scarcely sup¬ 
press her feelings; and he felt her hand tremble as he 
took it in his own. She believed, all along, that if she 
ever met him face to face again she would instantly ask 
his forgiveness with the meekness of an humble child; 
but a strange revulsion of emotion overcame her, and 
although she bravely strove, she was utterly unable to 
utter a word. She merely returned the pressure of his 
hand, and made no response to his eager question as to 
whether she was sorry to meet him. 

“ The country is full of Sioux,” said Colonel Havens, 
as the party stood all together; “if it hadn’t been for the 
Otter I never would have gotten through.” 

“ And how are we to get back again ? ” 

“ There will probably be fighting before we reach the 
fort; but I hope we shall succeed for all that.” 


THE RED PLUME 


362 

Red Plume and the Otter were talking together, and 
it took but a few minutes for them to reach an under¬ 
standing. Reinforced by this weazen-faced redskin a 
still better plan of procedure was adopted by the fugi¬ 
tives. 

Their route, it must be understood, led them over 
roads, across fields, by the margin of small tracts of 
timber, and through a section which, for a new country, 
was quite well settled. As it was known that parties 
of Sioux were constantly ranging over this territory, 
the great peril was of encountering some of them. 

The more certainly to prevent this, Red Plume, the 
Otter and old Jud assumed the lead. The first was not 
only in advance, but was at considerable distance to the 
right; the second took a position as far to the left, 
while the hunter occupied the centre. 

Captain Swarthausen compared them to skirmishers 
thrown out to feel the way. By adopting this plan, it 
was almost impossible to run into any great danger 
without its detection by one or all of the advance 
scouts. 

Time was too precious to admit of any great delay, 
and Red Plume had his party on the move within ten 
minutes after the first greeting of Colonel Havens. 

The captain was so pleased at meeting his nephew, 
that for a considerable time he could pay no heed to 
any one else, and absorbed his entire attention; but the 
veteran could not help perceiving, after a while, that he 
occasionally cast longing glances backward, where 


THE RED PLUME 


3 6 3 


Augustus Pipkins was doing his utmost to entertain his 
cousin, Lillian Prescott. He would have been blind not 
to have perceived the cause; and, accordingly, he grad¬ 
ually edged away to his place beside Muggins, who, 
from some cause or other, seemed more dispirited than 
ever—so much so, indeed, that he found himself 
scarcely able to draw him out. When questioned, 
rather sharply, however, he declared a wish that he 
might fall before reaching the fort; for, since the death 
of his wife, he had no desire whatever to live, and 
would welcome the bullet that would take him away. 

Augustus Pipkins affected a lofty indifference, as he 
observed Colonel Havens step out from the front of the 
party where he was walking, and await the approach of 
the rear, where he and Lillian were journeying side by 
side. 

The young lover never would have done this had he 
not been encouraged by the pressure of the hand and 
the look of Lillian's face when they first encountered 
after their estrangement. 

Bowing politely to Pipkins, he supposed the latter 
would step aside and yield his place to him; but the 
Chicagoan chose to disregard his wishes, and walked 
the closer to his cousin. 

“ Will you be kind enough to allow me a few minutes 
with Miss Prescott? ” asked the colonel, lifting his hat 
with the most studied politeness. 

“ I do not see the necessity; she is under my charge/' 
was the grandiloquent reply of Pipkins. 


3^4 


THE RED PLUME 


“ I will be obliged to yoii, if you will leave me for a 
short time/’ said Lillian herself, who, as may well be 
supposed, was not a little indignant at this response. 

“ I regret that I must refuse to comply with your re¬ 
quest/' was the astonishing answer. 

There was no telling what this matter would have 
culminated in had not Edith come to the rescue. 

'‘Adolphus, you will not refuse to give me a few min¬ 
utes/' she asked, as Fielding helped the case by moving 
away, and offering his place to her. 

“ Certainly/' said Pipkins, as, with all the grace at 
his command, he took his place beside the sister, who 
straightway devoted all her ability to entertaining him, 
and withdrawing his attention from the couple behind 
him. 

The latter lingered and loitered until they were as far 
in the rear as was prudent, and still they were silent. 
Now that the opportunity so ardently prayed for had 
come to Lillian, she found pride struggling again in her 
heart, and threatening to smother all the resolutions she 
had made. 

“ Did you receive my letter ? ” he finally asked, in a 
voice so low that he knew no ears but hers heard him. 

“Yes,” she responded, in a trembling voice; “you 
never should have written it.” 

“ Why not?” 

“ Because there was no necessity for it.” 

“I thought there was; I had every reason to believe 


THE RED PLUME 


365 


“ I treated you badly,” she said, forcing down her 
pride. “ I called to you to come back, but you would 
not heed me.” 

“ I did not hear you,” replied the colonel, as his heart 
gave a great bound of delight at the confession of her 
who held all the love of his soul. 

“ If you had heard me, would you have come? ” she 
asked, looking him archly in his face. 

“ No power could have prevented me. Never have I 
known such sadness as has been mine since I last saw 
you. When I found that I had a chance of assisting 
you and your friends, I came out with the Otter, deter¬ 
mined to do all that was possible, except to recognize 
or speak to you. When I met you, I concluded to shake 
hands, so as to escape occasion for remark upon the 
part of the others; and then your actions led me to ask 
for the opportunity to say a word or two to you, and 
now that I have obtained it, what shall I say? ” 

“ You may tell me some other time,” she replied, 
looking toward him, while her eyes spoke the great love 
that welled up from her heart. 

“ Dearest Lillian, I cannot express the happiness this 
night has given. If my separation from you plunged 
me into the lowest depth of despair, so has this meeting 
raised me to the highest pinnacle of delight. If you 
were trifling with me, I was over-serious with you, and 
impelled you to your assumed indifference. But the 
cloud that came between us, and that dimmed our 
future, has cleared away, and all is well. Is it not so ? ” 


3 66 


THE RED PLUME 


Lillian answered with an inclination of the head, for 
she durst not trust her voice. Was she not as happy as 
he? Had one suffered more than the other? If both 
had been equally sorrowful, were not both equally 
glad? 

They walked side by side in silence, but their hearts 
were in communion, and each felt that there was no one 
upon earth whom they could envy. Hardly conscious 
of the distance passed, they had followed instinctively 
their friends in front, scarcely thinking of the peril 
which was really deepening around them, until now it 
may be said they awakened to a sense of their situation, 
and turned their thoughts to others as well as them¬ 
selves. 

They felt the propriety of rejoining the others, who 
more than once had looked at them in a way which 
showed that they suspected, even if they were not cer¬ 
tain of what was going on. 

At this time they were crossing a sort of prairie, cov¬ 
ered with long grass, but uncultivated and unenclosed 
by any fence or boundary marks. It seemed to stretch 
for several miles in advance, and was unrelieved by any 
visible object except a distant cabin, which, as dimly 
seen, bore no signs of disturbance from hostile bands. 

The three scouts thrown out in advance were faintly 
visible, now and then, as they steadily made their way 
over the prairie; but as yet there was no communica¬ 
tion between them and those in the rear. 

It was observed that they so shaped their course as to 


THE RED PLUME 


367 


leave the house spoken of on the right. As the fugi¬ 
tives advanced nearer to this it was seen to be com¬ 
posed entirely of logs, and so far as they could judge, 
it had not been disturbed by Indians—a circumstance 
which more than one of the party was disposed to look 
upon with distrust, although Colonel Havens could see 
nothing in it to excite apprehension. 

The humble-looking structure was passed by a few 
hundred yards, when the crack of a rifle was heard 
from the front, followed by another, and another. Our 
friends paused, undetermined what to do; but they had 
not long to wait, when Red Plume, the Otter, and old 
Jud were distinguished running toward them at full 
speed, all converging in a manner which showed that 
each was doing his best to reach the house that the main 
party had just passed. 

“ Into the cabin! ” called out the hunter, in his sten¬ 
torian voice; “ the varmints be coinin'! JJ 

“ That’s so,” added Colonel Havens. “ Hear them 
shout—and yonder they come! ” 

It looked as if there were fully fifty of them, mounted 
on horseback, shouting and screeching like fiends, and 
in full pursuit of the three flying scouts. 


CHAPTER XXXV 


THE PRAIRIE FIGHT 

There was no longer any thought of whom the set¬ 
tler’s cabin might contain, but all turned and ran 
toward it. 

Those in the front, hearing the frenzied cry of 
Dinah, hesitated; but the captain waved them on again, 
and then spoke to Muggins: 

“ Come, we shall have to lend her a hand, for she 
can’t help herself.” 

Running back a rod or two, they caught her, one by 
either arm, and she almost ceased her efforts, relying 
upon them. 

And all this time some fifty mounted Sioux were 
bearing down upon the scene, shouting, screeching, 
whooping, like so many fiends, and frequently dis¬ 
charging their guns, and brandishing the weapons over 
their heads. 

Red Plume had not detected them until the whole 
horde dashed out of the woods in front, and bore un¬ 
hesitatingly down upon them. They could only fire 
their guns and turn back with utmost speed. 

All three, being remarkably fleet of foot, reached the 
deserted building slightly in advance of the others, and 
368 


THE RED PLUME 


369 


hurried in. There was but a single door and window, 
and both of these had been battered in, so that there was 
no means of barring them against the entrance of a foe. 

But the rude hut offered shelter; and, satisfied on 
this point, they turned to the assistance of their friends. 

Pipkins was the first to enter, and immediately be¬ 
hind him came Prescott and his wife, Colonel Havens 
and Lillian hurried immediately after, and then Cato; 
but Edith had stumbled, and, ere she and Fielding could 
reach the shelter, an Indian horseman rushed between 
them and made straight for the girl. 

A horrified scream went up from the mother, and she 
fell swooning to the floor. The rifle of the Friend was 
not loaded, but clubbing it, he drew it back and awaited 
the onslaught of the savage; but scarcely a dozen feet 
separated the two, when the Sioux threw up his arms 
with an ear-splitting shriek, and rolled from the side of 
his horse, slain by a bullet from the rifle of old Jud. 

Seeing how narrowly he had escaped, the Quaker 
lifted the fainting Edith from the ground, and carrying 
her as he would have carried an infant, made a dash 
for the house, and, assisted by many willing hands, was 
drawn within with his precious burden, just in time 
for both to escape a fearful death. 

But the return of Muggins, Captain Swarthausen 
and Dinah was cut off, and a half dozen Indian horse¬ 
men were already between them and the house. 

“ They are lost unless we save them! ” exclaimed 
Colonel Havens. “ Who will follow me?’ ’ 


37 ° 


THE RED PLUME 


With which, the colonel leaped through the door, 
closely followed by Red Plume and the Otter, while 
Prescott allowed himself to be restrained by the hunter 
and his family. 

The assault of the Sioux proved that they were 
mounted upon horses of all degrees of fleetness, for 
scarcely two of them rode at the same speed; and, at 
the moment the three men rushed forth to the rescue of 
their friends, about half a dozen were closing around 
them, and attempting to cut them down. 

Captain Swarthausen had drawn a revolver, with 
which he had managed to arm himself, and coolly 
awaited the attack. Muggins was without weapons of 
any kind; and seeing that he could be of no assistance 
to either of his companions, he made a plunge for the 
cabin, in the hope of making his way between the 
horses during the confusion of the moment. 

By this time he was encircled by the furious horse¬ 
men, and while he paused, bewildered and not knowing 
which way to turn, he was shot dead by one of the 
Sioux on the outer edge of the circle. The poor fellow 
uttered one groan, and expired without a word. 

“ There is no' use of trying to stay here,” Captain 
Swarthausen had said, a few minutes before. “ Fol¬ 
low me as close as you can, Dinah, and, with the assist¬ 
ance of our friends, maybe we shall succeed in reaching 
the house.” 

It was a fortunate thing that the captain possessed a 
loaded revolver, for the Sioux appreciated that weapon. 


THE RED PLUME 


37 i 


As an indication of what he could do, he sent a ball 
crashing through the nearest bronzed skull, and then 
instantly wheeled and pointed it at the next; but the 
terrified redskin ducked his head, and threw himself on 
the opposite side of his horse, with such celerity that the 
aim was disconcerted, and the captain forbore to fire, 
unwilling to throw away a single shot. 

“ I’m with you! ” shouted Colonel Havens, as he 
bounded to his side, pistol in hand. “ Be careful, and 
don’t let them get behind you.” 

Side by side the two soldiers advanced, firing in 
every direction, but with a care which showed their fear 
of being left with empty chambers. The Indians kept 
closing around them, but their manoeuvres were not a 
little obstructed by Red Plume and the Otter, who were 
whisking and dodging hither and thither with a dex¬ 
terity that could not be surpassed. Each held a long 
hunting-knife in his hand, and fought with that weapon 
alone. 

Dinah did her best to keep as near the officers as pos¬ 
sible, and she came near stumbling over them several 
times. The greater portion of the distance was passed, 
when a daring Sioux forced his horse between the par¬ 
ties, and she found herself shut entirely from all assist¬ 
ance. 

We have shown how Colonel Havens and Captain 
Swarthausen had all they could do to attend to their 
own safety; neither Red Plume nor the Otter paid the 
least attention to Dinah, caring little whether she es¬ 
caped or not. 


372 


THE RED PLUME 


And thus it came about that she was left friendless 
among her enemies, who showed a curious anxiety to 
make a prisoner of her. 

Two Sioux seized the bulky lady with a grip of iron, 
and despite her furious resistance, she was cast upon 
the back of a horse, and one of them vaulted upon the 
animal behind her, holding her firmly in position, 
against her most determined struggles. 

The horsemen then headed toward the woods, and 
put his animal to a rapid gallop. Dinah, all the time, 
never ceased her struggles, despite their manifest in¬ 
utility, as the savage held her with great strength and 
firmness. 

But when he was yet a good distance from the wood 
he observed another Indian on horseback speeding 
toward him. He paid little attention to his brother, 
except to see that he was better mounted than himself, 
and that their routes were converging. 

Nearer, nearer, they came, until scarce twenty yards 
separated them, when the stranger shouted, in the 
Sioux tongue: 

" Halt! ” 

Not a little surprised at such a command, the Indian 
partly reined up his horse, and looked inquiringly at 
him. As he did so, he saw the upraised rifle flash, 
heard the crack, and never saw or heard anything more. 

“ Massa sakes! what’s going to ’come ob me! ” 
groaned Dinah, as she rolled to the ground, with her 
inanimate captor. “ I do b’lebe I’m shook to pieces.” 


THE RED PLUME 


373 


“ Run to the woods and hide! ” called the other In¬ 
dian, as he sped away again with his horse at full speed. 

Amazed and bewildered as the woman was at her 
sudden deliverance, she yet had the good sense to obey 
the injunction of the Indian, and she accordingly hied 
toward the woods at her best speed. 

Chiefly through the distraction caused by the manoeu¬ 
vres of Red Plume and the Otter, Colonel Havens and 
Captain Swarthausen were enabled to reach the build¬ 
ing, from which old Jud had rushed to their assistance, 
and the three dashed in again, in time to escape any¬ 
thing more than a few scratches. 

Red Plume followed the next moment, bearing in his 
hand a reeking scalp, which no one knew how he had 
obtained, and with a whoop of defiance he leaped into 
the building unharmed. 

“ Where is the Otter ? ” asked the hunter. 

“ He is lost! he is lost! ” exclaimed the panting col¬ 
onel. “ Is there no way to save him! ” 

“ He ain’t lost,” replied Red Plume; “ he go way— 
he no come in. See! ” 

As he spoke he pointed out on the prairie, where a 
thrilling scene was visible. 

The Otter seemed to be in the centre of a group of 
fully twenty horsemen, who were pressing and riding 
against each other in their efforts to cut him down or 
take him prisoner, while he dodged and leaped hither 
and thither, avoiding their blows with an agility that 
yvas little short of the marvellous. 


374 


THE RED PLUME 


So absorbing was the spectacle that the other In¬ 
dians, who, from the nature of the case, were prevented 
from mingling in the fray, sat motionless upon their 
horses, watching the efforts to make a prisoner of the 
daring scout. 

And the fugitives, forgetful of their own danger, 
crowded the single door and window, and scarcely 
breathed, while all this was going on. 

Suddenly, while they were gazing with rapt atten¬ 
tion, the Otter shot from beneath a horse’s belly upon 
the extreme periphery of the circle of horsemen, and 
ran with astonishing speed directly across the open 
plain to where the riderless animal of the first Indian 
who had been shot was cropping the grass. 

By the time his enemies had fairly comprehended his 
intention, he was upon the back of the horse like a 
monkey, had turned his head toward the woods, and 
was going at full speed, with the twenty Indians in pur¬ 
suit. 

We have shown how this was the fleetest horse of 
them all, and the Otter speedily left them so far behind 
that they gave up the pursuit; and, as already narrated, 
he came up to the captor of Dinah just in time to save 
her and send her hiding to the woods. 


CHAPTER XXXVI 


THE LAST STRUGGLE FOR LIFE , 

A cheer of admiration went up from the fugitives 
as they witnessed the matchless exploit of the Otter, 
and saw him and his horse vanishing with the speed of 
the wind over the prairie. 

The iron features of Red Plume relaxed with a grim 
smile as he saw the triumph of his comrade, but he said 
nothing. He knew what his manoeuvre meant from 
the beginning. 

With the disappearance of the Otter, our friends 
came back to the alarming truth regarding their own 
situation. 

“ Back, all of you! ” commanded old Jud, turning 
about and spreading out his arms, as if he were driving 
sheep. “ Keep away from the door and winder, or 
you’ll get bored with their lead. 

The struggle of which we spoke in the preceding 
chapter eventuated in impressing the Sioux with a fair 
estimate of the courage of the fugitives, and they 
showed a hesitation in attacking them in their strong¬ 
hold, which was noticed and commented upon by more 
than one of our friends. 

The horsemen galloped back and forth upon the 
375 


376 


THE RED PLUME 


prairie, and, from their position, continued firing sev¬ 
eral dropping shots at the house, but none of which en¬ 
tered either the door or window. 

Thus matters stood, when Red Plume perceived 
something crawling through the prairie grass, in the 
vicinity of the house. It all at once flashed across his 
mind that this must be the Indian who had been shot 
by old Jud, and whose horse was afterward captured by 
the Otter. He had evidently been only wounded, and 
had hitherto lain motionless in the hopes that his 
friends might rescue him. Taking advantage of the 
attention of the whites being directed toward his party, 
he was now endeavoring to crawl off to the rear of the 
house, where he would be comparatively safe. 

It was not characteristic of Red Plume to allow any 
such proceeding directly under his eyes. With a mut¬ 
tered exclamation to Jud, he lay down his rifle, placed 
his hand upon his hunting knife, and in a crouching 
posture ran rapidly out toward the man. 

When the chief saw Red Plume stealing rapidly 
toward him, he knew who was coming, and he strug¬ 
gled upon one knee, and drew his knife to defend him¬ 
self, for he expected no mercy from him. 

The friendly Indian approached with due caution, 
and in the wounded condition of his foe, he easily dis¬ 
armed him. Then, instead of finishing him, he caught 
him in his herculean grasp, and ran rapidly toward the 
house, which he safely reached. 

The Sioux were unwilling to give up their chief, even 


THE RED PLUME 


3 77 


after he had been carried in triumph within the build¬ 
ing. They rode back and forth over the prairie, in 
front of the house, as though they were bewildered, and 
at a loss what to do. Red Plume and old Jud atten¬ 
tively watched them, and when one of their horsemen 
galloped up to within a few rods of the door, they saw 
that he wished to parley with them. He held up both 
hands, as evidence that he carried no weapons. 

“ Will Red Plume come forth and talk with his 
brother? ” he asked, in the Sioux tongue. 

The Indian unhesitatingly stepped forth from the 
building, and advanced half-way to the horseman. 

“ What does my brother wish ? ” 

“ Leaping Panther, the great chief of the Sioux na¬ 
tion, is wounded and in the power of Red Plume.” 

“ Red Plume took him prisoner.” 

“ The Sioux warriors are bowed with grief, for their 
chief is with them no more. We will give six of our 
best horses if Red Plume will send Leaping Panther 
back to his people.” 

“ We want no horses,” replied Red Plume, “ for the 
Sioux have more than we, and they could do us no 
good.” 

“ We will give you horses that will carry you to the 
fort, and the Sioux warriors shall harm no one, if Leap¬ 
ing Panther comes back to us.” 

“ Leaping Panther shall go back to his warriors, if 
they will go away and allow us to pass over the prairie 
to the great fort.” 


31 s 


THE RED PLUME 


The emissary immediately closed with this offer, and 
rode back to his companions to acquaint them with the 
good news. 

Red Plume now made known his plans. Upon the 
return of the messenger, he would accept his offer, but 
make the condition that the Sioux should retire over a 
hill a short distance away, and there await the coming 
of their chief, who would be conducted to the top by 
Red Plume himself. If these conditions were agreed 
to, the Indian intended to send the fugitives out of the 
house the very instant the Sioux were beyond sight, 
and they were to take a round about way to the woods 
and the fort. 

Only a few minutes elapsed, when the Sioux messen¬ 
ger returned, riding still closer to the door, while the 
rest of the horsemen hovered several hundred yards 
away. 

Red Plume waited with an assumption of indiffer¬ 
ence for the savage to renew the conference. 

“ If Red Plume will return Leaping Panther to his 
warriors, then shall he and his friends go to the big 
fort without harm.” 

“ If my brethren will go over yonder hill, and re¬ 
main, then will I bring Leaping Panther to them.” 

These conditions were not exactly pleasant, but they 
could not help themselves, and they announced their 
acceptance. 

As the messenger was about riding away, Red Plume 
called to him, and insinuated that, as Leaping Panther 


THE RED PLUME 


379 


was pretty badly wounded, he would like a horse to as¬ 
sist in carrying him back. This was another rather 
impudent demand, which was submitted to somewhat 
reluctantly. 

The savage dismounted, and Red Plume advanced 
and took his animal, leading him back to the house, 
where there was quite a party deeply interested in the 
proceedings. 

Red Plume and his friends watched the messenger as 
he ran rapidly back to where the main body were await¬ 
ing him. There he paused, and he could be seen con¬ 
sulting earnestly with them. 

Suddenly, the whole band turned about and rode to 
the hill, and vanished over the top. 

The minute they had disappeared, old Jud said: 

“ Now make yourselves ready.” 

There were few preparations to make, and such as 
they were they were completed almost as soon as the 
command itself. 

Red Plume now placed his animal between the door 
and the place where he judged their enemies to be. 
Then he and old Jud stepped out, bearing, or, rather, 
helping to support the suffering chief between them. 
By this means the view of the Sioux was effectually 
shut off from the door. 

The minute matters were put in shape, the word was 
given for the fugitives to start. 

They had been apprised of the danger they ran, and 
fully instructed as to what they should do. So they 


THE RED PLUME 


3^0 

stole out like so many phantoms, one by one, until they 
had all vanished out of sight behind the building. 

Here every one of them sank upon his hands and 
knees, and began crawling away, keeping the house so 
far as possible between them and the suspicious eleva¬ 
tion that had been pointed out by old Jud, just before 
starting. 

Some ten minutes were frittered away in assisting 
Leaping Panther to the horse, and getting him ready to 
mount. At the end of that time, matters were deftly 
arranged, so that old Jud slunk out of sight, and fol¬ 
lowed hard after his friends, without any Sioux on the 
hilltop suspecting what was going on. 

After an extraordinary amount of labor, Leaping 
Panther was fairly astride the animal; but it was mani¬ 
fest that the position caused him great pain, so Red 
Plume pulled him off, and assisted him up on the other 
side, not helping the unfortunate fellow much, but 
gaining a few minutes’ precious time, which was all 
that he expected or cared to do. 

At last the two were astride the animal; and what 
with the several delays that had occurred it was fully 
half an hour since our friends had started. Any fur¬ 
ther delay would excite the suspicion of those in wait¬ 
ing. 

Still, Red Plume advanced with great tardiness until 
he had begun to ascend the hill, when one of the Sioux 
rode over the hill as if to meet him. The captor in¬ 
stantly halted and waved him back. 


THE RED PLUME 


38i 


His gesture was obeyed, and when he had disap¬ 
peared, Red Plume resumed his journey. Reaching 
the top, he saw the Sioux drawn up in a body. 

He sat motionless upon his horse, until everything 
was in shape to suit him. Then, suddenly lifting Leap¬ 
ing Panther from his horse, he dropped him to the 
ground, wheeled about and galloped down the hill at 
the top of his horse’s speed. 

So suddenly was this done, that he had well nigh 
reached the cabin ere his movement was fully compre¬ 
hended. Observing their leader fall to the ground they 
supposed he had been killed, and dashed forward to see. 
But a few seconds were sufficient to convince them that 
Red Plume had honestly kept his bargain. 

The instant Leaping Panther could make himself 
heard, he told his warriors that the whites had already 
fled, and ordered them to be pursued. 

They lost no time in following Red Plume, and when 
the pursuing horsemen reached the top, they saw him 
speeding across the prairie, straight ahead in a direction 
at right angles to the one taken by the fugitives, and 
while some followed, others rode up to the house to 
make sure that their chief was not mistaken. They 
were speedily satisfied on that point. 

Red Plume’s object was to draw the Sioux away 
from the whites, but he failed. They suspected the 
ruse, and while some followed him, others went right 
and left, it so happening that some six or eight of them 
took precisely the route by which they had attempted 
to escape. 


382 


THE RED PLUME 


It was a cruel lot that condemned our friends to be 
trifled with by fortune, as they were now doomed to be. 
They had gone so far on their hands and knees, that 
they had deemed it safe to rise to their feet, when they 
hurried forward with all the speed of which they were 
capable. 

Old Jud, as usual, took the lead, and behind him came 
the others, the females bearing themselves like heroines, 
and no one complaining. 

Old Jud was not acquainted with this section, but he 
knew the general direction to be followed, and he did it 
to the best of his ability. 

Something like a furlong intervened between them 
and the forest, when they saw his scared face, as he 
looked back and exclaimed: 

“ There they come! Make for the woods! ” 

At the same instant they heard the whoops behind 
them, and all started to run. There was a prospect of 
gaining the cover of the trees, from which they might 
defend themselves, and they sped over the ground with 
the men supporting and encouraging the females, and 
all still hopeful. 

“Stop!” commanded the hunter; “it's all up! 
there's no use of goin’ any further! ” 

He pointed toward the wood, from which the horri¬ 
fied whites saw another party of horsemen issuing di¬ 
rectly in front of them. They were thus between two 
companies, and to escape from both was a moral im¬ 
possibility ! 


CHAPTER XXXVII 


THE END 

The despairing exclamation had hardly escaped the 
hunter, when Colonel Havens flung his hat high in air 
and shouted: 

“ Saved! saved! saved! ” 

At the same time he danced about like a madman, 
and the next instant Captain Swarthausen and Augus¬ 
tus Pipkins imitated him. 

For out of the darkness of the wood came, not 
twenty mounted Sioux, but twenty mounted soldiers 
on a full gallop. The Otter had made all haste to Fort 
Grandon with the tidings that Colonel Havens was sur¬ 
rounded by Indians, and unless a large force was sent 
to his relief, his death was certain, and the commandant 
sent twenty of his best Indian fighters, not knowing 
that the fate of the colonel was inextricably interwoven 
with that of a certain band of fugitives. 

Simultaneous with the discovery of their friends, the 
soldiers fired a volley at the approaching Sioux. 

The sudden onset of the white horsemen created an 
instant panic among the Sioux, who wheeled about, 
like a flash, and thundered away over the prairie, bear¬ 
ing a number of dead and dying with them. 

383 


3^4 


THE RED PLUME 


In the space of ten minutes not a hostile Indian was 
to be seen. And the relief had not come a moment too 
soon. Wearied and exhausted; tortured by anxiety 
and fear; now revived by sudden hope, then paralyzed 
by despair, the fugitives were scarcely able to walk. 

The Otter gave up his horse to Colonel Havens, who 
took Lillian Prescott in front of him, while the first 
seated himself behind Red Plume. Some kind hearted 
frontiersman made a similar arrangement, by which 
Fielding and Edith were supported by another, Mr. 
and Mrs. Prescott upon another, Captain Swarthausen 
and old Jud upon another, Augustus Pipkins and Cato 
upon still another, and so the whole party at last were 
mounted, and turned their faces toward Fort Grandon. 

Something like a couple of miles still intervened, and 
they were slowly progressing, when, to their great sur¬ 
prise and delight, they came suddenly upon old Dinah, 
who had been lying concealed in the woods, and hear¬ 
ing them laughing and talking, had hastened to join 
them. After an affectionate meeting with her son Cato, 
she was hoisted upon the back of a powerful beast, and 
they started off again. 

With such a strong escort, our friends bade farewell 
to all fear, and Fort Grandon was reached an hour later 
without any disturbance from the Sioux, who were 
hovering in the wood. 

The subsequent history of the Minnesota Massacres 
is too well known to need further reference here. 

When safety had again been restored to Minnesota, 


THE RED PLUME 


33 5 


the principal ones of those whose fortunes we have fol¬ 
lowed for a time, returned to Sleeping Water Lake, and 
again reared their houses and established their homes. 

The parents of Fielding the Friend occupied a pleas¬ 
ant little cottage, and near them dwelt their beloved 
son and daughter. 

Augustus Pipkins, at last accounts, was still unmar¬ 
ried and engaged in life insurance business in Chicago. 

Captain Swarthausen was now a colonel in the regu¬ 
lar army, which, he affirmed, was the culminating point 
of his ambition. When away from his duty, which is 
indeed rare, he makes his home in the “Bird’s Nest,” 
as he calls the delightful little cottage, where the gen¬ 
eral and his wife Lillian, and their mischievous young 
heir (named after the old veteran) consider themselves 
so happy that they envy no man or woman on earth. 

Jubal Judkins, or “Old Jud,” as he was more famil¬ 
iarly termed, was killed several months afterward, 
while serving as a scout upon a military expedition. He 
received a soldier’s burial, and more than one bronzed 
face was moistened with tears, as they laid the honest 
fellow away in the ground, there to take his long, last 
sleep. 

Red Plume and Otter moved further west before the 
advancing tide of civilization, and all subsequent record 
of them has been lost. 


THE END 










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